Rawkfawkler Ramblings
by Xiaochenliang
Summary: 2038 A.P. the future saga begins now.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling._

 _Some of the subject matter within is taken from other stories, times, places, dimensions, and planes of existence._

 _Because, the magic never truly ends._

 **Chapter One: Building a Monster**

Tim listened as only a small child could to the argument between his two parents.

Melissa Rawkfawler was a tall, blonde haired, blue-eyed mother that could easily have passed for supermodel status in any of a hundred competitions. In fact she had in the past, won several such events over a decade ago, before catching the eye of Charles Rawkfawler. The dashing salt and pepper haired billionaire had been most taken with her, even more because like him, she was part of a very select community in America.

Tim Rawkfawler's parents were both magic.

Not the normal magic of just being amazing parents, but real magic. Magic with floating things, lightning bolts, frogs, and sparkly bits.

Which made arguments like the one going on right now quite a bit more interesting.

It was a challenge to win an argument with your wife when they could really, truly, at least for a few hours, turn you into a frog.

Tim thought his father was pretty amazing for not losing…at least not all the time.

"Melissa, dearheart, beloved, light of my life, we aren't sending him away right now there's no reason to be like this…"

"To a suspicious school in the middle of nowhere in Scotland? Where god-knows-what backwoods teachers educate, no, brainwash, him on "how to do real magic?" How you ever think I'm going to agree to such a thing is beyond me."

"Shining star in the morning sky, dear, even though it's a backwoods place, it's where the Potter kids go! I mean, it can't be that bad if the equivalent of British magical Royalty go there right? Besides, we both know it's going to be difficult to get him into Northpoint. After that last experiment in school, well, I don't think even adding a new wing on for them would make the cut."

Melissa seemed to deflate, "It's not his fault he's a genius." she turned scooping Tim up off the kitchen stool and giving him a hug. Tim loved being held, and deciding all was right with the world giggled at the kiss, which of course, resulted in several more.

The Rawkfawler's kitchen, like most of the house was the cutting edge of current technology, blending magic and science seamlessly. It helped that the house had practically an army of servants to assist it. Unlike many magical families, the Rawkfawler's disdained the use of house elves, preferring instead to use Sprites. Different from their house elf counterparts, Sprites had a lot more confidence, moxy, and weren't bound by treaties of non-lethal interference.

Which meant, breaking into the Rawkfawler's house could be rather deadly as plenty of reporters found out over the years. Charles valued his privacy, and spent no small amount of money to see his family didn't make the public eye. If a few rituals had to be done, and a few goats met untimely ends, it was all gravy for the peace and quiet they had.

Melissa put Tim back down on the stool, just in time for his father to ruffle his black hair into an ungodly mess. Tim made a frowning face at his father, he hated having to fix it after it was mussed up

"Charles, I swear, one day he'll take revenge for such things." Melissa said, making faces at him to distract him from the tangle of ungainly locks his father had created.

"Hmph, the day that I, Charles Rawkfawler fear a small child's revenge-" Charles said, drawing himself to his full height, dark sapphire eyes blazing miffed rage.

"Harvard." Melissa said, cutting the legs out from under his pretending.

"Well…"

"Westpoint."

"Now, there's no way he could duplicate that feat again…" Charles said, sweat beading on his brow. He took out a small handkerchief stitched with the letters C. R. and M. R. with a heart between them from his inner suit's pocket to wipe his brow.

"Northpoint."

"Oh, come now, it's not like greater demon lords are waltzing around waiting to be summoned by five year olds..." Charles said, arms thrown out to both sides of him with an incredulous aggrieved expression on his face now. It was truly the picture of a man doubting the sanity of the one arguing with him.

Melissa gave Charles the gimlet glare until his left eyelid started twitching uncontrollably before dropping the bombshell, "Last year's family gathering."

Throwing his hands up in surrender before tucking the handkerchief away, Charles said, "For the love of god woman, how was I supposed to know he'd figured out a way around the family Artifact's wards!? That one can't count, I mean, not even the family seer saw that one coming!"

"Hmph, if he hadn't been so drunk he might have given us decent warning!" Melissa said, a single hand chop indicating her belief in the so called diviner's abilities.

Giving satisfied sniff from winning the argument, Melissa sat down on the stool behind Tim with her arms crossed. Her dark silk shirt and tight pants practically clung to her body, going well with the black knee-length leather boots she had on, providing a welcome distraction to Charles. Even now, a decade later, he still felt he'd come off better in the deal to marry her.

"Proves my point, who knows what god awful magical crap they have stored in that castle waiting to see the light of day. They could have the magical equivalent of a nuclear bomb in there, just waiting for a curious boy to find." Melissa said, propping her head in hand while leaning on the countertop.

Charles knew he was entering the final stages of the battle, if he could just make her understand the value of mixing with the magical equivalent of the President's children…

A little over three decades after the infamous battle that ended Lord Voldemort's life had passed, and the breadth and reach of the magical community had grown exponentially. It was absolutely vital that his family took advantage of the best opportunities to position themselves as leaders in the American magical community. Even with the wealth the Rawkfawler name commanded, there were still some things money couldn't buy.

Sitting down opposite both of them, Charles said, "Dear, even admitting our son's unique talents, Hogwarts has weathered countless generations of curious children. The possibility that our son would find something that they've missed is miniscule, tiny, nay, null zero! Compare instead the benefits of mixing with magical Royalty, goblins, veela, dwarves, sylphs, and draconian. It's an education he can't get here in the States, not with the current embargo situation. Here's he's always going to be "The Rawkfawler Heir" and people will treat him as such, he needs exposure to those just as famous as him, even if it takes him across the world."

"What's to prevent some fame hungry tabloid hack from harassing him into doing something drastic?" Melissa said, tears creeping up into her eyes. Her mother and father had been driven into secluded hiding as a result of her own fame before she married Charles. At least now they didn't have to worry about it, the Rawkfawler name commanded fear and respect in equal measures.

"The best false identity Galleons can buy, love. Not even Goblin Intelligence would be able to discover our son there, I swear it. I'll ensure he has the best training beforehand, and every advantage money can buy. What's the point of being married to a wealthy husband if he can't make you happy darling." Charles said, smiling at the most beautiful woman in the world, his beloved wife.

Tim knew his father had won the argument, and grinned whilst being carried by his mother all the way up to his bed. Moments later he fell fast asleep dreaming of magical castles and waiting adventures. For once, his dreams coincided with those of a normal seven year old child.

######

Alfonso Featherwood stared at the application for a transfer student to Hogwarts with utter confusion. According to every record he could find, the three children listed checked out. However, Featherwood's sixth sense told him something was off with the third applicant. For the life of him though, he couldn't spot the problem.

Then it hit him at the end of the day.

Age: Seven

Magical Education: Private Tutored

This normally wouldn't be cause for alarm, until the other piece of the puzzle fitted in.

"When did we have a pureblood family in the world named Rookwood?"

Because of course, only a pureblood family could have a child so far ahead in magical education as to need private tutoring at age seven.

######

Master Cho glanced at the visitor to his dojo. Sitting at the wooden table both were sharing, he was every inch the successful American businessman. If you placed him on the floor of the Asian Stock Exchange no one would give him a second glance. Salt and pepper hair, framed deep ice blue sapphire eyes, on top of a fit frame that couldn't be achieved merely from gym workouts. The man before Cho was a tiger concealed behind cloth camouflage that would better allow him among the sheep roaming the world unaware.

Gently conjuring and serving tea with a few gestures, Master Cho offered a cup to this _Mr. Rookwood_ as if he hadn't immediately realized the falsehood. It did take a certain level of arrogance for a wizard to use that family name with its attached historical significance. The person using it was either insane, or diabolically clever, and his guest didn't show signs of chewing the carpet.

"You wish me to train a small child for four years, am I understanding this correctly, sir?" Cho said, sipping as he considered the offer he'd been given. It intrigued him, the chance to teach someone that the man in front of him would consider a 'genius' that even a tiger couldn't train.

"100 million American dollars, as well as a one year contract with the Dragon Enchanting Expedition to do whatever you'd like done to your mountain top training dojo." the visitor replied deadpan. His expression hinted at nothing, a calm facade that could mean he was about to strike, or ready to break out in operatic song. It was the type of expression a particular brand of wizard would wear, those so inured to the deaths around them their focus couldn't be broken. Cho had once worn such a gaze in the past, perhaps it was time to wear it again.

"This child, is…gifted?" Cho said, rotating his tea cup before taking a sip, conspicuously not allowing the money to disturb the calmness within. Such offers had been made in the last few years, after all, he was the World Wand Dueling Champion three times in a row. Admittedly, most of those offers were for far smaller sums, and that was before you threw in the Dragon Enchanters. The things he could get done around here with a competent group of Enchanting Masters was quite tempting. Besides, it would be good to train a possible successor to his Art. He could even add all those methods his paranoid old friend with the twitching eye said should be mandatory for keeping children safe. Although that old nightmare did have a rather distorted view on life, Cho admitted if he'd killed the same amount of Dark Wizards on record, so would he.

It would be a chance to see if the theory on the Art of Spellcasting Cho had developed over his lifetime could bear greater fruit if taught from a young age.

 _The chance alone to show my European teaching counterparts how antiquated and outdated their methods have become, and be paid for doing it, would be a priceless amount of honor._ Master Cho thought, without revealing his inner glee.

"My son is probably a genius in the field of magic." Mr. Rookwood said, before grimacing, "However, in the field of _self-discipline_ he's a bit lacking. He requires someone with real world combat experience, dueling skill, and a _specialized_ skillset such as yourself, sir."

Master Cho stilled as he recognized the person across from him had the resources to find out such information. If he walked away now, he might have to leave his beloved dojo in a far more permanent fashion than a mere teaching trip.

The silence between both men was broken only by sips of tea from each of them, finally, Cho decided he was interested. It wouldn't be the first time he taught a pupil that was challenging. It wouldn't be the last someone hired him for teaching more than magic either.

"I accept." Cho said, rising from the table to shake Mr. Rookwood's firm hand.

"There is then the small matter of an Unbreakable Vow to seal our deal." Mr. Rookwood said, taking out a wand with a serious expression.

Master Cho nodded, he wouldn't expect anything less for something like this.

Later, after his guest had departed, and he'd finished setting a few things in order. Master Cho took one last look at the entrance to his dojo while the biting mountain wind's cold ruffled his grey hair. Finally, turning away Master Cho grabbed his traveling trunk and activated the portkey his guest had left him, to head to America.

######

Doctor Deeplung glared with typical goblin moxy at the chap sitting across from him in the small doctor's office. Although his research wasn't yet approved by the Nation, he was confident eventually it would be mainstream, just as soon as he could find _funding_ for it...

Sitting at the enormous desk that was tailor made for a goblin's height was a dapper gentleman every inch the successful tailored English businessman. A _Mr. Rookwood_ as if he couldn't see the name was fake the moment it'd been offered to him. It took steel balls bigger than a Gringotts vault door to use a name like that, what with the attached history and all.

"So, let's start from the top…." Deeplung said to his guest.

"My spies reported you were close to a breakthrough." Mr. Rookwood said.

"Spies!?" Deeplung gasped in amazement. He actually rated spies!

 _"Hah! Take that and stick it where the sun doesn't shine Director."_ Deeplung thought, with venom.

"Of course, nothing less for a goblin such as yourself." Mr. Rookwood nodded.

Deeplung admitted he was impressed, not even the Nation thought his research was currently at a stage worth observation by Goblin Intelligence. Perhaps this was an opportunity, the opportunity he'd been looking for in vain from his own race. After all, wasn't the Director constantly harping about unity between the races? That's right, this was a chance for unity…and _profit_.

"It's only in the test stages of course. You understand that getting approval for experimentation on actual subjects is a lengthy process…" Deeplung started his pitch for funding.

"Fifty million pounds, into a bank account of either Gringotts or Morganstien of your choosing. In exchange you will destroy all notes on the process and experiment only on a single consenting subject. The lab you are provided to work from will be cutting edge, and we will ensure it stays that way for as long as you desire to work for us." Mr. Rookwood countered immediately with a sum that was many times over what Deeplung would ever be able to wring out legally from the Nation.

 _Not just funding, but, equipment too..._ Deeplung thought, barely managing not to drool at the prospect.

Deeplung paused, even with the money involved, the destruction of his life's work was a steep price to pay for furthering the advance of his research goals.

 _If I stop now though, if I wait for approval, and funding, and safety protocols, I might never reach high enough to matter in the medical world. This research, it has the potential to change everything!_ Deeplung thought. Besides, it was well known that St. Mungo's only took the cream of the crop for teaching positions. _Can I truly pass up such a Stone Sent opportunity?_

"If successful, we are willing to privately fund ANY other research you undertake within the next thirty years with a budget cap of ten million a year. If the research is deemed useful to us privately we would purchase it outright." Mr. Rookwood said, his grin a pure expression of goblin amusement.

That sealed it, there was no chance Deeplung would ever get a better offer.

"I accept." Deeplung said, reaching over to give a handshake.

"There is then the small matter of an Unbreakable Vow to seal our deal." Mr. Rookwood said, taking out a wand with a serious expression.

Doctor Deeplung nodded, there couldn't be any other way to be sure his benefactor stayed on the up and up with this much money involved.

Finally, hours later, after Deeplung had finished destroying all notes and records of his work, he stood from the chair by his fireplace. All that was left was a tiny clinic that the bank would take back. Executing a Cleaning Charm stored on his lab coat he sighed, then with a sudden surge of excitement Deeplung grabbed his traveling trunk and exited the place. It was time to portkey to his new future in America.

######

Melissa listened to her husband expound upon the two people he'd found to help train Tim, they would carve away the dross to reveal the diamond character both parents knew existed. After taking a glance at their credentials she'd admitted being impressed. A goblin doctor, and a World Wand Dueling Champion who'd fought in mercenary companies before his rise to fame.

"So, what do you think dear? Are they good enough for our little munchkin?" Charles said, as they cuddled on the living room couch. Sprites surrounded the happy couple feeding on their emotional high while presenting platters of food, drink, and paperwork.

"Well, they are pretty impressive…" Melissa said, giving her husband a victory kiss to reward his efforts.

"Hmph, do you think I would spare any expense to see my son prepared for that place?" Charles said, with a sloppy grin that was being rapidly kissed into submission.

"Of course not, my big strong wizard wouldn't dare." Melissa said, pausing the kissing attack before grinning.

"Deeplung will handle reinforcing Tim's foundations, while Master Cho will handle his combat preparation. I will handle his business classes, and of course, you my beloved will be left with the darkest task of all." Charles said, slowly edging away from her on the couch.

"Oh? And what would that be?" Melissa said, arching an eyebrow at him.

"Everything else!" Charles shouted as he leapt for safety.

Unfortunately, Melissa was quicker with her wand. Shortly after the curse hit, a small frog was hopping on the floor where Charles had been in the process of fleeing.

######

Tim followed his father down the steps to the new laboratory wing that had been recently constructed over the last few weeks. Today was the first day he'd be meeting a doctor that would make him stronger. He wasn't exactly sure what his father meant, but both of his parents were ecstatic about the subject so Tim decided it had to be good.

His father opened the large shiny steel door that led into the laboratory, and Tim got his first look at the place. Clean white walls, counters, and various equipment that beeped or flashed with lights covered almost every available horizontal surface along the walls. In the center a massive island table held sway supporting half a dozen bubbling beakers of various colored liquids and what seemed like miles of glass tubing. In the back of the laboratory, a long shiny chair with restraints held dominion, like an emperor blessing the presence of lesser beings.

However, the most crucial fact…

"Isn't everything rather…short?" Tim mumbled. Everything was literally sized almost perfectly for him to reach.

 _And I thought he swore off letting me play with chemicals without direct supervision after the last incident at the family gathering._ Tim thought, with growing confusion. His questions were quickly answered by a voice from the back end of the laboratory.

"This is all because I'm a goblin, young man. I can't have human sized countertops, I'd never be able to reach them." a goblin said, as he approached them both from a concealed door.

Tim's eyes sparkled like shiny coins, this was his first meeting with a live goblin. The goblin in question wore a dapper lab coat in pure white. Goggles with several lenses adorned each eye, and a small floating orb followed behind him sparkling like fantastic disco ball.

"Welcome to the Lab. My name is Deeplung, I will be your personal Doctor." the goblin said, holding out a hand to Tim.

Tim shook his hand before asking, "What exactly are we doing here?"

Deeplung took a seat at one of the island table's short stools before gesturing Tim to do the same.

"I'll leave the two of you to get started. Have a nice session Tim!" Charles said, before exiting the lab with haste. The Rawkfawler family Head's forte had always been more on the side of money and plotting for success, rather than science after all.

"Well, how much do you understand about magic, kid?" Deeplung said, focusing his gaze intently on Tim after his employer had departed.

"Magic is a manipulation of the Primal Energy known as Chaos in an ordered format by a wizard, witch, or other being. Using the inherent pathways that all such creatures possess, phenomenon are created from specific and ordered manipulations, known as 'spells'. Current research shows that 'electricity' and 'magical energy' seem to occupy a quantum area that does not allow for much overlap, which is the reason most electrical gadgets fail in areas of heavy magic. It also explains why some spells can be erased by enormous amounts of electrical current. Bartholomew Tristal one of the current leading theorists on the subject believes that it would be possible to combine the two energies as long as each was allocated their own separate dimensions from which they could work." Tim said, smiling proudly to a gob smacked Deeplung.

"…are you really only seven?" Deeplung asked.

"Father says there is no age limit on knowledge." Tim replied a little guiltily. After all, his memory was very good, when he was _interested_ in something at least.

"Well, essentially what we are doing here is making you 'stronger' by altering your physical makeup in such a way that you gain an advantage against any enemies. We are going to compress your brain making it able to compute faster under stressful situations, strengthen your skeletal structure so you can take greater impacts, and improve your skin so it's able to resist most known spells. However, my finest work will be this." Deeplung said, taking a small vial filled with silver threads from one of the pockets of his lab coat.

Tim watched entranced as small silver threads moved within the vial, probing the limits of their container.

"Is that stuff, sentient!?" Tim said, in awe. Except for the late Baron Frankenstien there was no record of another scientist creating life from nothing. Many could alter what already existed, but the shiny strands in the silver tube bore no resemblance to anything Tim had read about before.

"Hah! Close boy, very close." Deeplung said, a satisfied grin at the appreciation shown his greatest work, "It's not sentient per say, but rather a symbiotic organism, er, that means it helps its host living in balance with them. Once it bonds with the host, which will be yourself, it will strengthen your speed of casting magic exponentially. At the same time it increases the reservoir of power you have available to manipulate, as well as the purity level of said magic energy. The best part is, it _should_ in theory slow your aging by about twenty percent. This means that it does quadruple duty, while providing ever increasing tiers of efficiency and more power as you age." Deeplung said, pride evident in his tone. Tim could almost swear he saw the silver threads pulsing in agreement with the goblin's words.

"There's a catch though isn't there." Tim said, managing to draw his eyes away from the silver threads. It was the first thing his father had him learn after the words 'Moma' and 'Dada', there was nothing without cost in the world. Everything was an exchange, and he had to be sure to evaluate carefully before making a choice.

"…well…yes…" Deeplung said, with a sigh. This kid was sharp, but that was to be expected after he'd found out who he was actually employed by.

 _Mr. Rookwood indeed._ Deeplung smirked, before continuing his explanation.

"Part of the magically binding contract with the symbiote requires payment on the part of the host. You'll lose your eyesight…permanently." Deeplung said. There was no way around it, the creature demanded payment in the most grisly fashion of most flesh pacts.

"How am I supposed to fight without eyes?" Tim said, not afraid, just curious. There was no way his Mother would allow him to be blinded without something being done about it.

"After years of experimenting, I've managed to limit the damage done. In exchange for losing your current sight, combined with the improvements to your brain, you'll get another type of vision." Deeplung said, with a grimace. He was desperately trying to downplay the issue.

"Oh?"

"Yes, I've decided to call it, mage sight." Deeplung said, said with a grand flourish.

"That sounds kind of neat." Tim said.

"I'm not actually sure how effective it is though, you might see nothing but hazy shadows. Please don't let your mother skin me alive if it doesn't work out perfectly?" Deeplung said, a nervous twitch appearing on his right eyelid. Apparently he'd had a long conversation before with mom, Tim understood his reaction, because sometimes mom was a little scary.

"I promise." Tim said, crossing his fingers behind his back. He wasn't stupid enough to swear anything without a way out.

"Good! Then let's get started, I'll need you to lean back in the exam chair there, we've got a lot of work to do…." Deeplung said, jumping off the stool and walking towards the back.

######

Master Cho looked at the small imp wrapped in bandages up and down his arms, legs, and eyes. The late evening sun was just past midday, but within the warded training area it summer's heat didn't reach.

"Well, this is definitely going to be a challenge." Master Cho said, musing on how to train a blind person to the level of greatness he envisioned. The small child before him was wrapped in combat dueling clothes of the finest make and model, with a single glaring issue.

His eyes were wrapped in a seer's headband of complete and utter black.

"Master, I can see, it's just sort of….different." Tim said, waving his gloved right hand towards the surroundings. The new form of vision granted by his 'blind' eyes was still a little confusing.

"Oh? Can you see this?" Master Cho said, firing off a cutting hex into the air above them both.

"Wow that was pretty and sparkly, I could see the patterns mixing together like fizzy string." Tim said, gasping with delight. Now he could understand what all the strings, shiny colors, and energy currents were. It was the magical energy of the world constructed into form by nature, or spellwork.

 _The boy can SEE magic patterns!?_ Cho thought, shocked. It was only years of combat training that managed to stop his face from revealing anything.

Master Cho pondered for a moment and then picked up a pebble from the training ground. The wide open space was perfectly adapted to a variety of environments, and it was warded to a fare-thee-well. Not even a nuclear blast could crack the inside of the training grounds wards.

"Tell me if you can see this." Master Cho said, executing a hover charm on the pebble.

"Yes, it's like the stone? Rock? It's being held in a shiny sparkling matrix." Tim said, nodding at the hovering pebble. It was still hard to see stationary non-energy infused things.

 _Perhaps a magical version of the muggle 'sonar' I've heard used on those ships that go underwater._ Tim thought, delighted at the prospect of creating something _interesting_ and useful for himself.

Master Cho nodded in satisfaction at having his theory confirmed. _I thought that goblin was barking mad, but it goes to show I'm still nothing but a frog in a well._

"Can you see anything else?" Master Cho asked. Even if he could see spells, it was pointless if he couldn't see his opponents effectively. It would make any battle several times harder.

"Oh, absolutely. People are all shiny. Especially magical ones." Tim said, nodding to himself. People weren't made of colors now, at least not the _old_ colors that he could properly describe. They were all people-shaped packages wrapped in various colors and hues with copper, silver, or gold vein maps inside. He'd talk it over with dad and mom first, perhaps this wasn't something others should know.

"Have you tried casting any magic without your wand?" Master Cho asked, curious.

"A little…." Tim said, his body language expressing extreme guilt.

 _Well, whatever mischief a child could possibly get up to can't be that bad at this age._ Cho thought, showing an amused grin.

"Can you cast a Finite Incantatem on the shiny thing you see and tell me what happens?" Master Cho said pointing at the floating pebble. He didn't expect the boy to manage that spell, but it would be good practice for later.

"Oh, there's no need to do that." Tim said solemnly.

Master Cho frowned in puzzlement before asking, "Why not?"

"Because I can already see the weakness in the spell's structure. Watch!" Tim said, lifting his hand, extending his right arm, and pinching his fingers together.

What happened next would be the most shocking display of magic that overturned the very fundamentals Cho had learned all his life.

Tim pulled his fingers back as if he'd just pinched and grabbed a grasshopper. There were no words, no recognizable spellcasting, it looked nothing so much like a small child caught in a naughty prank.

The pebble that had been previously hovering as if nothing could effect it, dropped directly to the ground in a burst of sparks.

It was like the Charm supporting it had literally unraveled on its own, instantly.

There was a full minute of silence before Master Cho said, "Well, this is definitely going to be a bigger challenge."

Another minute passed as Master Cho reworked the curriculum he'd planned in his head.

"Alright, now here's the chance to really show your stuff. See if you can pull this apart." Master Cho said, casting several layers of defensive spells.

Tim's hands flickered out like a child catching fireflies in the late evening dusk. He wasn't fast, but he wasn't slow either.

Each movement was accompanied by one of the spells disintegrating until there was nothing left shielding Master Cho's body.

"Oh this is going to be fun!" Master Cho said, grinning like maniac. It had been a long, long, long time since he'd felt this thrill. The thrill of danger, the potential for mayhem on a massive scale.

"I'm going to start attacking, I want you to Un-Ravel the spells before they reach you, ok?" Master Cho said, flexing his body in preparation. He'd decided the boy's skill obviously needed a name that suited its appearance.

"Ok."

Cho immediately casted three separate charms, each aimed at a separate goal. He didn't expect they would have any effect, and was proven right almost immediately.

As three firework displays occurred in the space between them both, marking the spells disintegrating, Cho stepped up his game.

A stunner, body-bind, and freezer all shot out almost simultaneously. Cho had long since passed the need to enunciate his attacks. At the peak of the dueling world it was not uncommon for matches to be completely silent, at least of words.

As each spell managed to make it closer and closer to the boy, Cho gained confidence. It seemed even with such amazing abilities there were limits. He felt surge of joy that, even at seven years old his pupil was just barely holding his own.

 _I'll show all those old relics how far the Art has truly advanced in this lifetime. No longer bound by wands, or the shoddy concepts of a failing education system. Tim will by my greatest masterwork, not a Wizard bound by rote repetition, but a Sorcerer, bound only by his imagination._ Cho thought with pride.

Master Cho, distracted by his thoughts, could be forgiven for what happened next, after all, even Tim didn't think it would be successful.

Tim decided to simply dodge the next attack, while weaving his own spell. Hands fluttering he manipulated the energies that were sparkling in the air all around him. They practically sang to him begging to be used, woven, and casted.

 _Offense is the best defense. So, here, and here, and this, then twist it all together and…_ Tim thought, snapping the energy construct together with one hand throwing outwards in a palm thrust launching the spell's attack structure at his teacher.

The spell Tim had constructed rippled out from his palm, a complicated set of instructions imbued into it.

Master Cho found his wand launched to one side, his body another, and the ground met both hard, since the gravity had been increased for added effect.

"Are…are you ok…Master?" Tim said, a little surprised he'd managed to get a blow in. He'd savor the victory later, it was probably the only one he'd see in a long time.

Master Cho groaned before sitting up, "Well, this is definitely going to be a much bigger challenge."

Although he couldn't see it, Tim could hear the amusement in his teacher's voice.

"Is this method really effective? Couldn't I just get all your memories of combat instead and use those to fight?" Tim asked, after helping Master Cho up from the ground and handing him his wand back.

"Hah! That type of shortcut leads to shoddy foundations, my dearest disciple. There are plenty of nova's that rise to stardom, but fall just as quickly because they do not have a style of combat all their own." Master Cho said, with derision. His arrogance on the subject was well placed since he'd defeated several such upstarts on his path to three time World Wand Dueling Champion. If all it took was a bundle of memories and some harsh physical training to make someone truly competent the world would be awash in mediocrity.

"Mind, body, soul, each combined into a whole greater than the sum of their respective parts. That is the essence of a warrior. Not the clothes, the techniques, the gadgets, tricks, or traps used. It is the pure fusion of those three fundamental concepts. Take, for instance, Harry Potter." Master Cho said, warming up to his subject. Transfiguring two chairs out of thin air he gestured Tim to sit with him.

"How much history do you know about Mr. Potter?" Cho asked Tim, as he transfigured a table between them, before requesting some snacks and drinks from the house Sprites. As plates of delicious food and goblets of drink appeared he glanced at his newest apprentice who was concentrating intently.

"Harry Potter, known son of James and Lily Potter, orphaned at birth by the Killing Curse. The Mad Wizard Dumbledore attempted to foist him off on his muggle relatives but was foiled by fate. Through a series of coincidences, Mr. Vernon Dursley found his way to the goblin bank Gringotts whereupon he washed his hands of the matter entirely. From there, Mr. Potter was raised by the Nation for almost a decade, specifically by the late retired Ambassador Barchoke, with the specific goal of improving world relations. He entered Hogwarts at the age of eleven, and met his life-mate Hermione Granger on the train to school. At school he gained many friends, most notable among them Potion Mistress Padma Longbottom, and Master Auror Lord Neville Longbottom. Together with a complex series of plans they managed to reverse engineer the Dark Lord Voldemort's plot to create a Portkey during the Tri-Wizard Tournament. As a result the last of the Death Eaters, Augustus Rookwood, Bellatrix Lestrange, and Lord Voldemort were killed either in direct combat, or by execution through use of Veritaserum for treason." Tim paused his speech to wolf down some meat and potatoes, along with a few cookies and a helping of juice. Emboldened by the refreshments he continued, "Not satisfied with simply defeating the most deadly Dark Lord in the last fifty years, Harry Potter embarked on an ambitious plan to change the face of our world. Utilizing his money, connections, and political know-how he almost singlehandedly altered the perception of wizards towards many races, chief among them Goblins and Muggles. Over the course of the last twenty-five years or so, he was highly active in the political arena shaping the course of Britain's future well into the next century. Little is known about him though, since he retired from the public eye five years ago. His last words before retiring were, _"It's time for the world to look out for itself, and I know I'm leaving it in good hands. Each and every one of us has the potential to do great and terrible things. However, with the solid basis we've created over the last twenty-five years, I think we've skewed it towards the great side of the scale!"_ Tim finished, and started eating heartily.

"Well, that was certainly an almost textbook answer right out of _Hogwarts: A History_ if I didn't see it myself I'd assume you were reading from it." Master Cho said, closing his mouth in shock and taking some time to eat in order to gather his thoughts.

"Do you have a perfect memory?" Cho asked. It would vastly simplify things if the child could remember everything.

"Not exactly Master, I can't memorize something that doesn't interest me, or something that I don't understand. For example, I can memorize a poem that I like out of a book, but I might not even remember the book's title. Or I could attempt to memorize a complex spell, but if I have no understanding of the underlying principles of the spell, it would be utter gibberish to me." Tim replied, finishing off the food on his plate and drinking a large gulp of juice. The house Sprites instantly started refilling his plate, as far back as living memory could recall they were constantly dancing attendance on the Heir in constant competition with each other.

"A disciple who's memory depends on whether something is interesting or not." Master Cho said, laughter in his tone. "Well, this is definitely going to be a massive challenge."

#####

Charles Rawkfawler stared at his sole son barely restraining his inner glee. Both were dressed in suits made from the best money could buy. It was only with a massive effort of will that Charles managed to restrain Teleporting them both to the closest photo studio to get pictures for the family scrapbook.

"Dad?"

"Hm, yes son?"

"Mom's lurking right behind you with her wand drawn." Tim said, looking nervous. Charles didn't waste any time Teleporting them both to safety.

Both of them appeared with proper solemn dignity in a boardroom at the top of a massive skyscraper.

The heads of over thirty well-dressed men and woman turned like laser guided gun turrets to track the arrival of both of them.

Charles placed a smile upon his face and strode forward to seat himself at the head of the table. Raising a small gavel at the side he struck twice on the sound block.

"The Morganstien Monthly Meeting is now in Session." A single individual separated from the table started recording the meeting's minutes immediately.

Tim stepped up to his father's right hand, listening intently. It was clear the Rawkfawler blood was just as thick in him as Charles. A tiny smirk marked Charles's face as he listened to the department heads sounding off about profit and loss in their respective areas.

######

Melissa sat on the couch with her son, both of them staring each other down before they burst into giggles. It had taken almost an hour to calm her down when she'd first found out what Deeplung had done to her little boy. Even now if it wasn't for the fact that his safety was under an Unbreakable Vow tied to her beloved husband, no one would have ever found the goblin's body.

"So, what did you learn today honey?" Melissa asked as she pulled out an ultra-thin laptop from thin air.

"Deeplung made progress starting the process to improve my 'foundations' as he calls them. Master Cho and I had a fun time scuffling about, probably the first and only time I will win for at least a year. Daddy took me to visit the serious people in the tower. Today was fun, very fun!" Tim said, giggling again.

"Hmph, I guess that old man's plans are somewhat decent." Melissa said, indicating her approval of her husband's plans so far. Opening the laptop several symbolized pictures were shown.

"Deeplung is teaching you medicine. Cho is teaching you combat. Your father is teaching you the use of power, money, leadership and such trappings." Melissa said, pinching her little baby's cheeks. "What do you think I will teach you?"

"Everything else!" Tim said, waving his hands in the air ecstatically.

"That's right, now, let's start on our first subject….physics…" Melissa said, her tone turning hypnotic and enticing.

Tim loved being taught by his mother, she could make the most ridiculous drivel interesting.

######

Melissa was staring at Master Cho as if inspecting a particularly disgusting specimen of insect. Both parents were seated as if holding court in large wing-backed chairs within their private study. Bookshelves containing everything from the Darkest rituals to the most benevolent Charms lined the walls around them. Only a single fireplace within which a captive fire elemental danced broke the books reign.

At the moment, Cho was evaluating if any of these books were worth enough to threaten his employer's wife with to save his own life.

"Now, beloved, let's hear him out all the way. After all, I'm sure he has a _very good_ reason for such a suggestion." Charles Rawkfawler said, his tone icy and remote. Combined with his calm almost peaceful expression, someone who wasn't used to working with him would think he was merely curious. Cho knew however, that if he didn't satisfy them, he'd suffer badly. Unbreakable Vows could be broken, at great cost yes, but still broken.

"Your son's own words. Only things that _interest_ him can be memorized. Even with top level training like I will be imparting, it's worthless if he doesn't remember how to use it. Even worse, it would be a disaster if he couldn't adapt on the fly to situations. He has extensive gifts, but can either of you claim he's the only child in the world with them? Tim could meet an opponent all his power and training doesn't work against. At that point, if he isn't able to adapt. **He. Will. Die.** " Cho said, his passionate tone finally reaching the two parents.

Both parents glanced at each other before Melissa gave a slight nod. It was obvious to her that the Asian combat wizard truly cared about her son. Even if she didn't agree with the method used, the end result would keep her little boy safe.

"We authorize you _limited_ use of the Crutatios Curse to motivate him to improve." Charles said. "But you will explain to him exactly what it is for, why, how, and in what ways it will improve him. If you can't convince him, it is not to be done." Melissa said, her eyes flashing ice blue flames of rage.


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling._

 _Some of the subject matter within is taken from other stories, times, places, dimensions, and planes of existence._

 _Because, the magic never truly ends._

 **Chapter Two: Monster Ball**

The past few weeks had been a blur of various forms of training for Tim, but today Master Cho had said he had something important to discuss. That was why Tim was currently waiting in a chair on the training grounds. At the moment he was listening to house Sprites singing in chiming voices while swinging his short legs in time to notes. The current training grounds were transformed into a guerilla zone filled with forest, lush half-height grass, and small dips in the ground. It was a calming peaceful zone that could heal after the harsh training session that was about to start. As he'd mentioned to his mother before, since the first lesson Tim hadn't even been able to touch the hem of Master Cho's charm-embroidered robes.

Tim sighed in disgust, every spell he'd casted was dodged, deflected, or interrupted. Cho had started using Teleportation as it was called in America to jump around on the battlefield. Blinking in and out of the magical energy field made it difficult for Tim to track him effectively in order to cast offensive attacks. Admittedly, it would require an enemy to have the same skill level to be a threat. However, Master Cho believed in training to levels _above_ expectation. That way you were surprised less, and thus, less likely to die.

 _Maybe if I created something that blocked Teleportation, except for myself. That would remove one of his major counters to Un-Raveling. Or perhaps a detection field to show where he's going to jump next. I need to come up with something effective._ Tim mused, his finger tapping the rhythm of the current house Sprite's song on one knee. He would have to take a look at the Library again, it was filled with ancient knowledge.

With a snapping sound Master Cho clad in green-camouflage robes appeared, Teleporting in wand raised. Tim's relentless training took immediate effect. Twisting off the chair he kicked it while _boosting_ his legs magically to provide strength. Leather steel-toed black boots impacted on wood imparting velocity to the chair, so it headed at Cho. As the chair flew between both of them it shattered into a cloud of wooden splinters by intercepting at least three curses. Before the pieces finished hitting the ground Tim's training had shown even further. Without delay he had _layered_ several sets of shielding on his body. Most of the shields were standard issue, however two of the shield layers Tim used were part of a concept he'd learned from muggle physics class with his mother. Charms custom built into the combat fatigue clothing Tim was dressed in repulsed the few splintered bits that came towards him.

There was a short pause as each of the combatants oriented themselves before the spells started to fly in earnest.

Tim unloaded a chain combination, hands furiously flickering around like a child throwing coins. He had rapidly mastered the art of wandless combat, and Master Cho had encouraged him to do so. In this manner, anyone who thought he was disarmed without his wand would be in for a nasty surprise. Cho had also promised that within a few months he would start teaching combat kata hand-to-hand routines to Tim. These routines would make his ability to reinforce his body with magic even more deadly.

Freeze, body bind, flame, cutting, and blind curses were constructed and delivered with equal rapid speed towards Cho.

Master Cho chose to Teleport rather than test the improved curses Tim had been developing lately on his shields. This had the dual function of limiting magical drain, while also adjusting his position to be superior.

Tim rolled forward, as the continuous _sonar_ spell effect he had designed and created revealed the opponent. The _sonar_ had suddenly informed him, that Master Cho had teleported behind him. Several spells landed in the grass behind him stitching a pattern in to the ground that he barely avoided by rolling forward. Suddenly, with an impressive reversal using boosted leg strength, Tim launched himself at Master Cho.

 _As long as the shields hold long enough to get in range…_ Tim thought, palming a pair of muggle weapons into both hands from his sleeve sheaths. Each of the last 2 layers of Tim's shield was imbued with a new effect taken from muggle science; the dual concepts of Absorb and Rotation. He was still working on a way to make them even more effective. _But that's for later, I need to finish him fast._

Master Cho reacted exactly as he'd drilled Tim not to; by habit alone.

Certain that the boy hadn't yet figured out a perfect counter to Teleporting he allowed Tim in range in order to overload a portion of the boy's shielding. Cho was impressed with how resilient they were compared with last month.

When he spotted the two muggle devices approaching, he ignored them confident they couldn't get through his physical shielding.

When the objects impacted on his shield, they exploded into blinding light and disorienting sound. Master Cho immediately reacted on reflex to Teleport directly up above the combat zone. From here he gained precious moments of time to size up the situation, and used it effectively to counter-attack.

Tim looked on in boyish glee as both flash and sonic grenades exploded an arm's length away with devastating effect. His delight though was short lived. As soon as the flash faded, it revealed an empty space, one void of a prone Master Cho. Tim's _sonar_ warned him of Cho's new location just in time for the last of his shields to take a massive beating from above before a full body bind curse incapacitated him.

"Well, those muggle devices were certainly a nasty surprise." Cho said, floating down before removing the full body bind with a _Finite_ _Incantatem_.

"Almost had you. Didn't expect the attack from above so quickly." Tim grumbled, rubbing feeling back into his arms and legs before he stood up.

"Hah! That you didn't disciple, but that's where years of treachery and combat experience came to the fore. Remember, the combat field is more than forward, back, left, and right. It has up and down in it too, and there are plenty of combat wizards that know it! I have no doubt though, that if I try to use the same escape method next time, something even worse will be waiting for me at the end of the Teleport." Cho said, conjuring his favorite table and chairs which the house Sprites promptly started stocking with edibles.

Tim took a seat starting to eat, one of the downsides to Deeplung's medical alterations was a ravenous appetite. On top of the normal pains of a growing boy, he was afflicted with a terrible constant _hunger_. Such a problem resulted in him consumed enough food for Master Cho to ask if he stored it all in a bottomless stomach pouch at one point.

"I noticed your use of _Boosting_ was much smoother there than last week. Are you on track to start with full body use soon?" Cho said, taking a sip of his tea while chopsticks fed meat into his mouth. Even though he'd never say it aloud, sessions with the boy were exhausting. He was learning as much as he taught, and sometimes worried his entire bag of tricks would be used up by the third year of teaching.

 _Well, if I use up all my tricks, then I'll just need to make up more._ Master Cho thought, with a wry grin. Moving his chopsticks to continue eating, he listened closely as Tim spoke.

"I think it might take a week or two more to get everything on track. Doctor Deeplung tells me that the current treatments are just smoothing the way for the _Silverthread_ to be implanted. At that point I'll be able to _Boost_ without any strain." Tim said, taking large gulps of his favorite apple cider before starting to make inroads on the sweets.

"That's excellent. I may need to adjust my plan to introduce you to _Shen-To-Pai_ sooner than I previously expected." Master Cho said, as he ate slowly.

" _Shen-To-Pai_ the Ancient Martial Art?" Tim said, his eyes gleaming with expectation.

Master Cho nodded with amusement at his student's evident excitement before a small frown appeared on his face.

"Have you considered all the options I presented on the Torture Curse fully?" Cho said, finishing his meal and wiping his face thoroughly with the provided cloth napkin.

"It will make me stronger, more focused. I've decided to go through with it." Tim said, his face showing only a flash of fear before turning to blank calmness.

 _I had only an inkling of the potential it might unlock, but after explaining to him, Tim provided even better reasoning than my own for its use._ Master Cho thought, rising up from his chair with a deep sigh.

Master and disciple both moved to stand an arms-length apart.

"This Curse is considered Dark Magic in most parts of the world. However, I consider it both a vital part of any proper Combat repertoire and exemplary training tool. In the right hands it will allow you to rip almost any secret out of another wizard. The Torture Curse cannot be blocked currently by any known shield except a physical one, even with today's advances in magic."

"I understand, Master."

"Prepare yourself, disciple. And remember, this Curse is illegal in almost every part of the known world."

" _Crucio!"_

Moments later the training ground echoed with the screams of a small boy.

(((****)))

Master Cho soaked in the Oriental style bath provided by his employer, Mr. Rawkfawler. After use of the Torture Curse, his soul always felt slightly stained. Even though many parts of the world banned the use of the curse, America and Greater China still stood on the fence. A decade ago they had removed the ban on it due to increased tension between the two nations.

What worried him more than using the Curse itself was what came after he'd stopped.

Tim had screamed for almost a full minute before Cho had stopped. Even Cho couldn't stomach using the Curse on a small child for long.

It was only the guttural command from Tim that prevented Cho from being ripped apart by the house Sprites. He'd literally been covered in a glowing blanket of the deadly fairies, all of them pointing lethal poisoned needle-sword rapiers at him from every angle. It was one of the few moments the trained combat wizard could point to in his life as utterly terrifying.

 _His expression after the Curse was used though…_ Cho thought, a small shudder going through his well-toned frame. _It was like the calmness of a deep lake, whose infinite depths conceal the most frightening monster. There was no expression, no, it was like he couldn't express things._

Tim hadn't spoken other than to command the house Sprites to bring him away.

A short discussion later, Cho had found from both parents the boy was in the Library. All three of them had approached where the boy had retreated too but to no avail.

Upon attempting to check up on him, Cho realized the Library wards were far beyond his capabilities and neither parent were willing to disturb him or forcibly enter.

 _What will happen when a genius is stimulated by immense pain?_ Cho questioned himself, as he sank further into the abyss of relaxation hot water and oil provided.

Tim was starving.

Not for food though.

He was _hungry_ for knowledge.

The pain even now, ran through his nerves, like a phantom of horror.

He'd spent six hours constructing the spell glowing before him on the empty table, six long pain-filled hours.

" _Lorg Eòlas"_

The carefully constructed Charm was fueled by desperation and pain.

For long moments nothing happened, then, without warning, a small white book appeared on the table. It had an ancient air surrounding it, as well as the symbol of Ouroboros in the exact center of the cover, in gold no less.

Tim grabbed the book opening it immediately.

A poem leapt out from the cover page.

 _To those who desperately desire,_

 _the power of immortal fire._

 _To those who fly above the clouds,_

 _without the power of the Maou._

 _To him, or her, who wishes great,_

 _this book shall guide your fate._

 _Within this tome I have inlaid,_

 _every path to Emperor Jade._

 _IF YOU DECIDE TO TAKE THIS PATH,_

 _DO NOT EVER DOUBT YOUR CRAFT._

 _-The Mao Sorcerer, Chen Fu_

Moving past the strange poem Tim stared at the completely blank second page.

"Eh?" a small surprised tone.

Before his very eyes, Tim witnessed a table of contents appearing, with a small scroll symbol on the right hand side of the page.

 **Attacking Section**

 _Common Spells_

 _Deadly Spells_

 _Very Deadly Spells_

 _Very Deadly Seriously Bad Ideas(Spells)_

 **Defending Section**

 _Common Spells_

 _Anti-Deadly Spells_

 _Very Anti-Deadly Spells_

 _Very Anti-Deadly Seriously Good Ideas(Spells)_

 **End of Page Two.**

Tim stared unsure if he might be suffering mental damage greater than he'd first thought from the Torture Curse. After a moment he realized the phantom pain was completely gone.

"Am I crazy?" Tim asked aloud.

 **Not any more than the rest of the world.**

The words appeared on the page, replacing the previous table of contents.

"Cursed?!" Tim said in fright, he well remembered the Cursed diary that played a great role in Harry Potter's life.

 **I swear on the magic that keeps me alive, I am not Cursed, Controlled, Chaos Bound, Demon Bound, Angel Bound, or intending you any harm. So mote it be.**

A soft glow enveloped the book before the light shattered into motes and vanished.

"Your _alive?!_ But human transfiguration of this scale was banned over two thousand years ago." Tim said, struggling to remain calm. The words had to be true, an oath of such wording from any magical entity was binding, and these words could not be uttered lightly.

 **So. What?**

"B-but…"

 **Don't say the word your thinking, it's limiting.**

"…imposs….er.."

 **Imposser is not a word, so I guess its ok.**

"What are you **exactly**? Tim said, curiosity beginning to defeat fear.

 **I am the sum and total knowledge of the first Prime Sorcerer to the Jade Emperor.**

"Why did you come to me?" Tim said, frowning. There was no free lunch, somehow, this book saw advantage by being near him.

 **There are three options, not counting my Book, when a Sorcerer calls out for aid using desperation and pain.**

 **The first is a Demon.**

 **The second is an Angel.**

 **The third is something from Outside.**

 **Either of these three options is not very healthy, especially to a young, malleable, easily controlled child.**

 **I intercepted the Summons, and hijacked it for my own use to pull my page-filled backside out of Limbo.**

 **Be grateful, you probably would not have survived any of the other three options.**

"I don't work for free." Tim said, his Rawkfawler instincts taking over. There was profit here, a great deal of it.

 **What do you want? Eternal Life? Money? Women…er…your probably too young for that choice. How about toys, cookies, cake, juice, muff-**

"I want you to train me how to be the greatest Sorcerer in this world or any other." Tim said, without shame.

 **Ambition, Power, Intelligence. What a dangerous child.**

Tim grabbed the book, keeping the page open as he moved to the fireplace.

 **W-wait, wait, w-what are you doing?!**

"This house is not a rental agency. Pay for staying, or burn." Tim was calculating the Book wasn't in a hurry to die.

 **Flames of such heat cannot hurt me. Nah nah!**

"Then I will use Dragonfire, if that doesn't work, Demonflame, and if that doesn't work, I'll pay to have you thrown into the Sun." Tim said, complete confidence in his every move. Once fear gave way, he entered into negotiation just like he'd been taught. Always go for the jugular, and never take a penny less than possible.

 **Are you sure you want to learn from me? I can see you have a decent teacher right now. You could do worse than Feng Cho, the Emperor's Right Hand, as your Master.**

"You are better. My father taught me to learn from the best, no matter the cost. I am sure lessons don't come for free, so what do you want Book?" Tim said.

 **Flattery will get you everywhere. Alright, I'm willing to take a look at your potential. Drop a tiny bead of blood on my pages. I warn you though, if you can't make my standards, which are far more stringent than that pathetic Sorting Hat from Merlin, I won't train you.**

"Will this constitute a binding magical contract of any type when I drop my blood on the pages?" Tim said.

 **I swear on the magic that keeps me alive, dropping a bead of blood on my pages does not** **for this single action** **, constitute a binding magical contract.**

Tim hesitated for a moment before forcing a small drop of blood out through his left index finger's pores. The blood dropped down onto the page before vanishing instantly.

 **A good score. Not as good as I was back in my day though. But you have greater room for improvement. Interesting…**

"What's my score?" Tim said, curious.

 **Not telling, so there!**

"T-that's so childish…" Tim grumbled.

 **Too bad.**

"Whatever, let's get this over with." Tim said.

 **Sign on the dotted line, boyo.**

A large page filled with a simple contract without loopholes appeared on the book's pages.

Tim scanned it carefully adjusting a few points to the satisfaction of both entities.

A signature in blood later and the Book gave him the weirdest instructions

 **Push me into your chest now, then follow me down with your** _ **divine sense**_ **into the Wal.**

"Divine sense?"

Tim's question resulted in a complex explanation about how to properly utilize what human's refer to as the six sense.

Using his newly understood divine sense Tim pushed the Book into his chest. It sank like a stone dropped in deep water, without a trace. Bemused, he entered his Wal, focusing on the space just below his navel.

Entering the Wal was a moment of brief disorientation before Tim found himself inside a seemingly endless wooden cavern with a single book floating in the air. The book was blazing white, and the cover bore the shimmering gold symbol of Ouroboros. In this spirit dwelling the book shone with incredible light, enough to light up a good amount of space.

 **Hello, Tim.** The book had opened its pages communicating once again.

"What should I call you?" Tim said, his words sharper, more distinct, like sound itself was clearer here in this place.

 **Names are dangerous things. I will permit you to call me, Sifu instead though.**

"Sifu, am I a Sorcerer?" Tim asked.

 **No. Right now you are not even a seedling, merely a seed with potential. It will take years to rise to the level of a True Sorcerer. Decades to rise to the level of an Adept. Centuries to rise to Prime. I don't hold out hope for you to become an Emperor, however that would be cruel. Each main layer of learning, True, Adept, Prime, and Emperor is split into ten levels. Do not fear though, as long as you are successful, each breakthrough to the next level will increase your power, age limit, and knowledge.**

"But there's a price isn't there? Nothing is without cost in this world, or any other I believe." Tim said.

 **Already wise for one so young. It's true, there is a cost.**

"What is it?"

 **Swear an oath to grant me one Favor when you reach the level of a Prime Sorcerer. My request in return, I swear, will not endanger you or yours, nor harm family, friends, allies, or acquaintances. It will also not cause large scale destruction, or action which could lead to such, at least not by my hand.**

"Sifu, you won't tell me what it is?"

 **I fear burdening you with expectations beyond your reach.**

Tim carefully considered, and in the end, his thirst for power won out over caution.

"I, Timothy John Rawkfawler, do solemnly swear the following. I will grant one Favor of the creature called Sifu the Book upon reaching the level of a Prime Sorcerer." Tim said.

Glows sprang up surrounding both Tim and Sifu as the Book continued on its own.

 **I, the creature known by Timothy John Rawkfawler as Sifu the Book, do solemnly swear the following. I will teach all my Art to him, passing down Legacy, Legend, and Life's Work. I will not stint on his education in any way, nor refuse any request for knowledge. I will however, not guard, protect, or save him if he falls into danger.**

"So mote it be."

 **So mote it be.**

There was a blinding flash of light in the endless wooden cavern before Tim found himself staring vacantly at the obsidian table in the Library.

A single sheet of paper with a complex three dimensional pattern lay on the table.

 **Solve the puzzle.** A warm almost velvety voice, like liquid chocolate, spoke quietly in the depths of his mind.

Tim's shock was complete as he realized the person speaking was female!

"Y-your!" he said, as a strong scent of fresh spring fragrance enveloped the air.

 **A woman? Yes, is that a problem? Did you think only men with dangly things between their legs were Sorcerers?**

Tim thought long and hard before shrugging, "It was unexpected that's all." He picked up the paper looking at it closely while taking a glance at the grandfather clock in the corner.

After an instant that seemed to stretch like a rubber band, Tim snapped back into focus.

 _Twelve HOURS?!_ Tim thought, after he looked again at the clock.

 **Congratulations on reaching the First Level of Truth.**

"What doe-" Tim started to say, and then _thought_ the words instead, _What happened?_

 **You were absorbed in the puzzle. Normally it doesn't take such a strong hold, but your mind is, unique. It seems that as long as something interests you, Tim, it gains your complete focus. Even parts of your mind that are normally used for other things, become utilized.**

 _Is this bad? Could I one day starve to death while solving one of these?_

 **Hm. The possibility exists, you will need to take precautions, my student.**

 _What would you recommend, Sifu?_

 **Get a trustworthy friend.**

Tim paused, considering his options. Friends were a rather strange concept his dad had mentioned before. They were people who didn't look at the balance sheet of life before jumping in to assist. Although his dad didn't have many, there were a few people he considered friends.

 _I don't have…any…friends, Sifu._

 **That's not my problem. I'm going to sleep, pay attention to the instructions on the page, and work on your energy manipulation. I'll give you the next Puzzle in a month or two depending on your progress, my student.**

Tim bowed low as he felt the delicious scent in the air depart abruptly.

Taking a glance down at the paper, the following words were written:

Form the numbers 1 through 10 on the tip of your index finger using purely the magical energy around you.

Refine the magical energy around you into a drop of liquid before placing it in your Wal.

Rewards will handed out based on speed of accomplishment.

Nodding to himself, Tim exited the Library into the arms of his worried parents. He didn't even have time to speak a word before his mother dragged him off to stuff him with food. Although no one said anything, the expression of guilt and relief on his parent's faces was amusing.

(((****)))

Sitting tucked in his bed after a delicious meal, both of his parents were on either side of him. It was a very warm and comfortable scene. Tim understood though that now the interrogation would commence. Preparing his words carefully, he launched the first strike.

"I found another teacher in the Library." Tim said, enjoying the surprised gasps from his parents.

"Is he any good?" Charles asked, concern for his son bleeding into his voice. The Library was the sum and total of every book the Rawkfawler family clan had collected over countless thousands of years. It was as big as it needed to be, but that didn't make it safe.

" _She_ is very good. She told me I was a Sorcerer, probably as a result of Doctor Deeplung's experiments to 'improve' my foundations." Tim said, with pride.

Melissa paused for a moment before asking, "Did you suffer any permanent harm from the Torture Curse? We only agreed to use it on you out of love, munchkin." The statement came with a solid warm hug and a soft kiss on Tim's forehead.

"It's fine. Pain is a motivator, like _interest_ or _curiosity_ I understand why you did it." Tim said, without anger. He not only understood why his parents did it, he approved of the idea. The world was a big, scary, unfair place, and there was no reason to keep a person ignorant of dangers. While the pain was intense, beyond anything he'd ever experienced, it was also like a dose of burning water.

 _There are people in the world that wouldn't hesitate to use that Curse on me to get information, or to hurt mom or dad. I need power to resist them, knowledge to avoid them, Sifu and Master give me such means. It would be foolishness to be unwilling to pay a price that could guarantee my safety, and that of my parents. Even if it did HURT..._ Tim thought firmly.

"I expect we'll need to start on the Occulmancy soon as well." Charles said, with a sigh. "At that point your mom will be extremely unhappy."

"I will not!" Melissa exclaimed.

"She won't be able to claim 'Mom Powers' as the reason she knows all and sees all anymore." Charles smirked.

"Mom!?" Tim gasped.

Both parents devolved into a fit of the giggles before giving a horrified Tim kisses on both cheeks and ducking out of his room. His expression as they left was as if someone told him Santa wasn't real.

Staring at the posters on his wall as the famous witches and wizards waved, chuckled, or grinned at him he felt content. Safe and secure, Tim decided he'd had a long two days awake before relaxing into comfortable sleep.

A short while later, the Library now contained four chairs instead of two. Deeplung and Master Cho were now graced with their own, slightly less opulent, thrones. It was deep into the night, and Charles and Melissa had just finished giving their son hugs and kisses.

"It seems your advice was effective." Melissa said, controlling her anger at Master Cho. Anger was pointless when the results were so excellent.

Wisps of grey, frizzy hair floated around Cho's head as he replied, "It's definitely due to the young Master and his drive to learn. This teacher cannot take all the credit for such results."

"Still, I worry about the new variable in the equation. Doctor, are you certain there are no problems?" Charles said.

"None. Whatever has taken up residence inside the boy is reinforcing my work at astonishing speed. He, I mean, _She_ is rapidly assisting in the boy's body adjustment. Weaknesses that I didn't even know about are being reconstructed and removed. I really wish I could talk to this person, they obviously are _much_ more skilled in this area than I am alone." the goblin said, with a wishful expression.

"Be that as it may, do either of you think _She_ will cause an adverse effect?" Charles said, tapping his fingers on the armrest.

"Doubtful. If what he told you is correct, this person has extremely deep levels of knowledge." Cho said, a quiet reference to the shocking title Tim had told his parents. It wasn't every day the Emperor of China's Right Hand sat down to tutor your son.

"To think at one time I thought I was taking a loss paying such sums for your service." Charles said, smiling warmly at Cho.

Master Cho shrugged, "You can't expect the Imperial Court to do nothing when one of the most powerful duos in America goes looking for education for their son."

Charles and Melissa gave a slight nod. Far from being unhappy with the man, they were impressed at the lengths the Emperor would go to assist them. Of course, the politely worded letter that had arrived asking for a reduction on the interest rate of the lump sum loan to the Imperial Family didn't surprise them either. Since it was beneficial to both parties, accord had been quickly reached.

"I think he'll be ready in two to three months for the _Silverthread_ with the current progress. _She_ seems highly interested in the boy." Deeplung said, as if he didn't even notice the byplay going on. It was quite possible he didn't, the avenues of research the new addition had opened up were making his mind work overtime. To think there were such incredible applications to combining magical energy and organics.

"Enough of this for now. It's time to eat." Charles said, a gesture conjuring a table between all four filled immediately by house Sprites. Each individual had cuisine catered specifically to them.

Master Cho was awash in a plethora of small Chinese dishes, his chopsticks moving with blazing speed.

Doctor Deeplung was served with a strange varied assortment of fresh meats, fungi, and sauces. While eating he used a strange contraption which was a cross between a knife, fork, and spoon.

Charles and Melissa Rawkfawler had a more moderate dish, clearly imported from a well-known Paris restaurant. The elegant use of their knife and fork was almost artistry in and of itself.

There was no talking during the meal, as it was an ironclad Rawkfawler House rule not to do so. It wasn't polite to hold a conversation that would detract from the efforts of the chef, after all.

When dinner was finished and cleared away by the house Sprites, each of the four lay back in their chair enjoying coffee with dessert.

"Will this new player affect our plans extensively?" Charles said, sipping from his thick cream colored coffee.

The first to respond was Deeplung, "We don't have enough solid information, but from what I've seen so far, no. The stuff _She_ is doing to Tim is advanced, and complementary, to my own research. Even worse, if we interrupt now, it might cause damage I cannot repair. I think we should proceed as if we simply had another trainer onboard." After saying his piece Deeplung settled back to crunching down chocolate snacks with his coffee.

Master Cho rotated his teacup on the small saucer before taking a sip and saying, "I see no problems with my student gaining another teacher."

Melissa looked at both of them carefully, and, seeing nothing amiss said, "I think we can eventually get a name out of Tim. We'll run that against the database and see if anything turns up. I doubt it will, a creature powerful enough to be in our Library wouldn't thoughtlessly give out their name in my opinion." Melissa sighed, before sitting back in her chair aimlessly swirling a spoon in her drink.

Charles glanced at his wife wanting to comfort her before saying, "Tim isn't foolish enough to get another teacher without some basic safeguards. There's likely a contract, or oath, in place. From the education my son has received since he could talk, he'll understand that nothing is free in this world. No matter what happens, I trust in the personal hand I've had in his upbringing to get the best of anyone in a deal. I agree, we will treat this as another trainer, until the matter shows otherwise."

Rising from his chair Charles said, "For now this matter is closed. A week from now, my wife and son will be making an appearance at a M.C.U.S.A function to confirm the new President. I expect Ilvermorny will once again bother me about sending Tim to school with them. Most likely Melissa will be occupied by Salem witches since it is her alma-mater. While we are away, please do not attempt to do anything…rash. Security functions in the house will be set to lethal levels. I would hate to come back to a set of Federal Bureau of Incantations agents on my doorstep, notifying me of something _unfortunate_ occuring." Taking the outstretched hand of his wife, Charles departed for bed.

Master Cho and Deeplung both watched the two leave, before conversing privately.

"How soon until _Silverthread_ is ready?" Master Cho asked, taking another sip of his tea.

"At least two months minimum with the 'help' I'm getting from our new addition." Deeplung replied, crunching down a handful of the delightful chocolates.

"Is it possible to get this technology for the Empire? We would be most grateful." Master Cho said, his face expressionless.

"As long as you can come to an agreement with the Rawkfawler, yes. I cannot break the Vow after all." Deeplung said, with a goblin grin.

"We must have this technology. If only the Americans have it…" Cho shuddered thinking of the consequences.

"Then it seems imperative that China finds common ground with Rawkfawler. Don't treat them like normal Americans, they're practically another species. As long as you offer decent terms, I doubt Charles would refuse to be reasonable." Deeplung said, gulping down more of the delicious coffee.

Master Cho sighed, "It seems like we will finally have to open our borders. There is no doubt that Rawkfawler would refuse anything less. At least the Emperor has enough daughters."

"Oh? Uniting both China and America huh? He certainly doesn't think small. Of course I knew that the moment he hired me as his son's Doctor."

"Indeed, if there is anything a good merchant hates it is national borders restricting their profit. I can only imagine what nightmares Britain has at their school to require such intense training for Tim that they hired me. Even more disturbing, even after they knew I work for another, they didn't even blink an eye."

"Results are all that matter to our employers, how, who, what, those are petty considerations. On that note, as a Doctor, I would recommend we hire one more tutor for the boy."

"Oh? Such as who?"

"The muggles have a unique type of people called _Special Forces_. I think we could do well to introduce muggle methods to the boy. If what I suspect is behind his intense education he'll need all the trump cards possible."

"Scourer scum?"

"It's a guess, but, you know they were never fully caught. It wouldn't be a far leap to assume Charles and Melissa are prime targets of those maggots."

Master Cho finished his tea before saying, "I will take it under advice Doctor. Thank you for your time."

"Same."

Both man and goblin departed for their rest leaving the house Sprites to finish cleaning up.

(((****)))

Charles was outfitted in a dashing uniform that had been tailored to show the epitome of a successful American businessman. Melissa was jaw dropping gorgeous in a slim black ankle length dress that showed all the right curves. Charms inlaid on both outfits gave them a soft glow that screamed 'professional' and 'expensive' in equal proportions.

Tim by extension had gone through a painful three hours of his mother trying on various combinations of clothing. Finally the young witch hired for the tailoring, an Amenda V'dal, threw up her hands in the air and threw Melissa out of the shop.

The end result was a slick suit of absolute silken black Charmed to absolute death. Somehow the young boy wearing it managed to look both serious and trustworthy.

Even though Melissa didn't enjoy being unable to dress Tim herself, she had to admit, the young seamstress's work was good stuff.

"Alright, everyone make a check of security apparatus. Emergency use Portkeys, guns, enchanted knives, skeleton keys, and Wards. If anyone gets kidnapped remember the drills. Personal security forces will meet us at the Teleport safe point before we move to the M.C.U.S.A. event." Charles said, taking a deep breath. While the House itself was secure, every trip out to locations not personally under Morganstein control was a risk. It was a small risk, but nevertheless, a risk. He did everything possible to limit that risk, while living in abiding fear that one day he'd miss something.

"Ready, dear."

"Ready, dad."

"Teleport in 3, 2, 1, 0!" Charles said, before a sharp crack sounded in the secure House room used as a jump off point. Seconds later, all three Rawkfawler's had Teleported.

Bruce Parkinson took another glance around the safe point. His team was a crack series of Ex-Auror talents hired direct through a series of family connections. Bruce Parkinson, Danielle Dugan, Lilly Longbottom, and Shamus Creevey were old experts at security. Bruce had put effort into wooing Danielle as soon as he had a stable job as an Auror. Shamus and Lily were a similar story. After a double marriage the team had decided to move to America, all four desiring to make a reputation of their own. The shadow of the Potter name touched almost everything in European relations, and none of the four felt comfortable under it.

As a result they were one of the finest Auror teams, code named 'Bolt' for close to twenty years. Their combined efforts on behalf of the M.C.U.S.A. was almost double Mad Eye's to Britain. After retirement though, it had only taken a year before boredom set in.

That was when their current strange employer arrived to the house the four shared.

A well-dressed American businessman with salt and pepper hair, he'd pitched a dream job.

Unlimited funding. Small doses of Elixir of Life to maintain youth. Complete autonomy except for jobs, which would be scheduled at least a month in advance to allow preparation time.

 _Here was a man who understood the dangers of the real world_. Bruce had though upon seeing the contract. _He's a man who values security above comfort, and family above Dragots._

There had been a short discussion among the four, before everyone had agreed to the contract.

Four separate Unbreakable Vows later, they were contracted professionals of the Morganstein Company.

In the following years leading up to the present, the team countered everything from Troll assassins to Scourer Dark Wizards.

"Eyes up! Incomming!" Bruce said his senses on alert, a moment before the snap-crack of a Teleport sound hit them.

Everyone closed Shields around the man and woman that appeared with a blind boy in tow.

"Good evening Mr. Parkinson. Everything in order?" Charles Rawkfawler said.

"We had two tests of the Warding, I think this location is compromised, sir. I recommend if evac is needed we go with Point #3." Bruce replied tersely.

"Understood." Charles said, his expression flashing to anger for a brief moment.

"Ready to jump, sir?" Danielle said, preparing the motions of a group Teleport.

"Ready." The Rawkfawler Patriarch said.

"3, 2, 1, 0!"

The entire security contingent, and Rawkfawler household Teleported towards the M.C.U.S.A. event.


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling._

 _Some of the subject matter within is taken from other stories, times, places, dimensions, and planes of existence._

 _Because, the magic never truly ends._

 **Chapter Three: Don't Belittle Small Monsters**

The entire contingent of Rawkfawler House, security and all, arrived at the M.C.U.S.A. event Teleport point inside a central government building in Washington, D.C. that had been enlarged several times over. To the No-Maj, the American version of the slang word 'muggle', the interior of the Pentagon was a maze of endless corridors. If anyone knew it was such due to magic, it was doubtful what the reaction might be.

"Welcome, welcome!" a man checking invitations surrounded by guard forces both Auror and No-Maj said. The No-Maj would believe they were guarding a high government official's party, while the Aurors knew it was a magical gathering.

Charles handed over the invitation that glowed a sparkling soft blue from an inner pocket of his suit. After a short wand scan that turned the invitation gold, he led his party into the Presidential Confirmation Ball. As they passed through the doorway, a charm activated announcing them.

"Mr. and Mrs. Rawkfawler, Heir, and escorts."

For a brief moment all conversation dropped off as the most powerful CEO in the American business world was announced. Moments after, as Charles and the family stepped down the staircase towards the floor conversation resumed.

"Play nice, don't kill anyone I can't cover up, and try not to poison the punch again by accident." Charles said, his gentle tone directed at Tim. Last time he'd been let out of the House, Tim had accidentally mixed a chemical concoction into the Ball's punch bowl.

Admittedly, many attendees had said it was the highlight of the year, although few could coherently remember the time spent.

"That was an accident dad, exactly how could I supposed to know what effect sodium pentothal and L.S.D. would have mixed together. I just thought it would help all the uptight people relax."

"Oh, they were relaxed, indeed. I don't think his Lordship the Grey Baron has ever been more relaxed at a party, the cagy bastard." Melissa said, through a brilliant smiling expression that matched her husband. Occasionally as they moved down the staircase hand waves were sent to single out friend or foe.

"This place is going to be so mind numbingly boring. I wish I had stayed home to train with Master Cho." Tim said.

As the security detail of Bruce Parkinson, Danielle Dugan, Shamus Creevey, and Lily Longbottom shuddered infinitesimally, Tim started to hum a cheerful tune.

"Shamus, Lily, Bat. Danielle, Alpha Two. I'm on Alpha One. Good luck, stay safe, shoot straight." Bruce said into the radio communicators as the team split up to guard their specific targets. Short range radio communication boosted by magic to make the transmissions undetectable, and unbreakable was one of their expensive safety tricks.

As he walked off towards the buffet table Tim said to his two shadows, "Nice to meet you both. I'm the future Heir. We didn't meet two years ago because I Portkeyed into the Ball by mistake."

Shamus and Lily glanced at each other before Shamus said, "Glad to make your acquaintance young man."

"I'm super hungry because of some stuff I've been experimenting on, so let's take over one of the tables. One of you ferry food, and the other can guard. We'll use the passcodes: Chocolate, Lavender, and Blueberries. Chocolate is imminent attack, Lavender is suspicious activity, and Blueberries will be FOF(Friend or Foe) identification." Tim said, following his protocol training for large gatherings. He really hoped someone was successful kidnapping him, because then he could try out all the fun things he'd been training on lately.

"Roger, passcodes relayed to Alpha One and Two, approved." Lily said, with amusement. This kid was probably the most well trained child she'd ever worked with. Well, at least the most well trained American, the recent Potter brood she was godmother too was excellent too.

For the next hour Tim consumed three times his weight in buffet food. Eventually, the kitchen requested that he privately order with them so as not to deprive other guests. With a small sigh, Tim agreed on the condition that suspicious staff may be stunned without warning. It seemed to take the waiter aback when he was warned, but he continued serving without delay.

"Such a large amount of food, do you have a hollow leg?" Shamus asked, curious from his position on the left side of the small table. In order to Ward the area around their small client, they had positioned his chair against the wall, while each guard took a side. This allowed a full 180 degree scan for Disillusioned, Invisibility Cloaks, and Imperioused threats. The darkened sunglasses that both guards wore made them look like characters from a famous new 20th century movie with aliens. They also had the added benefit of performing much like Mad-Eye Moody's famous twitching eye.

"Something like that." Tim said, pulling a minor potion set out and starting to mix. He could see the surrounding children were dying of curiosity to approach, but scared of his guards. Tim couldn't care less, if they weren't brave enough to come to him, they weren't worth knowing.

(((****)))

Jennifer Smith, Jen to her friends, stared at the strange blind boy in a suit guarded by two of the most lethal looking people she'd ever seen. Even her daddy's guards didn't look quite so intimidating. The strange boy wore a suit like an emperor, even his seer-band looked majestic. It was very odd though, Jennifer was extremely familiar with the current crowd of children, and he wasn't someone she'd seen before. Jennifer received admiring glances from most boys, and jealous ones from the girls. It wasn't her fault though that all her looks came from Mommy. Mommy had once said, "Even though I aimed higher, my looks couldn't beat _that woman_ out for top man of our generation." After seeing the very same woman her mother lost to coming down the staircase earlier in the evening, Jennifer understood implicitly. There were probably few women in the world that equaled Mrs. Rawkfawler, and all of them were otherwise married. Jennifer still thought her mom did good to get second prize, after all daddy was now the President of M.C.U.S.A.

"Marcus, how much food has he eaten already?" Jennifer asked, gracefully. Her small childish form was merely a mask for a ravenous mind that calculated endlessly. At one point her daddy had joked that if it wasn't for the age limit on government service, his new job would be hers. She'd giggled and responded, there was no interest in a position where dealing with idiots was commonplace.

"Almost twenty-seven pounds of meat, half that of vegetables, and fourteen gallons of juice." Marcus, the sharply dressed leader of her guards said.

 _Is he even still human?_ Jennifer thought before saying, "I am going to approach him." Acknowledging, her guards formed a ring around her as she moved towards the boy's table. Admiring glances at her fairy-made blue dress that haloed her in glowing sparkles were ignored. Jennifer knew she looked good, but hadn't yet reached the age where she cared about it. Even though her Mom constantly harped about finding a match, she ignored it.

 _Perhaps I should immigrate to another country, one where mothers don't try to set up their children at age seven. If I have to listen to another sermon on the subject I might go stark raving mad._ Jennifer thought, a little guilty for disparaging her mother.

Upon approaching within a few meters of the table, Jennifer noticed the telltale glimmer of mobile Wards. Expensive work, which meant the boy they were protecting must be equally as important as her. Even with minimal information to go on, Jennifer's mind was rapidly building up a profile of her subject. Pausing just outside the mobile Ward, she asked to enter politely. A brief discussion between the two bodyguards and the boy occurred before his voice drifted pleasantly out, "Two guards, no more."

Jennifer nodded, and picked Marcus along with Marvin. Both of them were twins, and extremely skilled at working together. Jennifer had the feeling though that even ten times their number wouldn't deter the professionals working for the boy.

Sitting down across from the boy she watched as the simple potions he was working were frozen with a charm. After that, they vanished into a spatial sapphire storage ring with the Rawkfawler House seal on it. Upon closer examination she could see a slight bulge that indicated a gun in he left chest area, as well as what looked like four sleeve-sheath variations around each wrist. A small silver locket with another sapphire nestled among unobtrusive cravat ruffles tucked into the inner suit's vest.

 _Well that explains one mystery. All the equipment though just makes another. This boy must be the mystery Heir of Rawkfawler House. Strange, how does he expect to inherit with such a crippling lack of sight?_ Jennifer thought.

"Would you care to play a game to pass the time, Mr…?" Jennifer asked, placing her hand on the table and lifting it to reveal a wizard's chess set. A whimsy sixth sense of intuition had caused her to make the offer, which turned into a flash of shock when he replied.

"Timothy. Are you any good?" the boy asked her with an expressionless face. The seer-headband made it easy for him to maintain a good poker face.

Jennifer kept her temper in check before saying, "I'm _very_ good. Pick your color." Only seconds later did she realize it was odd that he could play, if he was truly blind?

"White." Timothy said.

"I'll play Black then." Jennifer countered.

The wizard chess set was quickly set up with pieces. Jennifer's forces showed a slight disgruntled air, while Timothy's forces were utterly rock still. A shiver of fear ran down her spine, but was quickly suppressed. It was rare that a player could control their forces completely without any movement.

"Good game."

"Good game."

Each of them finished the ritual greeting, and the game began.

Timothy opened on the attack with his center pawn.

Jennifer took a moment to consider before launching an aggressive counter with her own pawn.

Tim started to bring the Knights out, and Jennifer countered with well positioned bishops.

Knights, bishops, and pawns flowed across the board grabbing space and preparing for battle.

Finally, Timothy moved his Queen out to support a bishop.

Jennifer took the bait, trying to change tempo by opening her pawns up more.

Without hesitation, Timothy threw a bishop sacrifice out in order to disrupt the left wing of Jennifer's forces.

A few minor moves later Timothy's White was in a superior position, with the King castled. On the other hand Jennifer's Black was at a disadvantage, and had decided to crack open the center to regain tempo.

Jennifer looked up to see a wicked smile on her opponent's face.

"I can see the ending. Are you sure you want to keep playing?" Timothy said. The wicked smile, combined with the seer's headband, gave Jennifer a momentary pause of alarm.

No matter how she looked at the situation, Jennifer felt she was in a superior position, so she chose to ignore the taunt.

Starting from the center of the board her forces started to crumble. Brutal exchanges were made, pieces shattered, and without warning Jennifer found herself fighting a desperate war.

Timothy's method of playing was to slowly eat away at his opponent's forces, one step at a time. Jennifer couldn't figure out how, even though she was up on total pieces, her position on the board was disintegrating into chaos. Knights were crushed together, rooks were sacrificed without pause, and Timothy continued to amass pressure.

Finally, a critical pin occurred. Jennifer looked at the board realizing no matter how she moved out of the discovered check, her Queen was dead. It felt as if all along, she'd been playing in the palm of her opponent.

Closing her eyes for a moment, Jennifer opened them staring at the seer-headband Timothy was wearing.

"Congratulations on your victory." Jennifer said.

"Thank you." Timothy said, as Jennifer tipped her king over.

"Another game?"

"Did your skill level suddenly rise in the last half hour of playing?" Timothy said, smirking.

"There's no need to be rude." Jennifer said, tossing her silky black curls while her albino red eyes glared.

"And yet it's not rude to waste my time? Fascinating." Timothy said, raising his face to stare directly at her. It was eerie the way his dark silken seer-headband seemed to flash with two azure blue gleams for a moment. As if a demonic creature was staring out from across an abyss. The moment passed though, as Jennifer's face grew hot.

"How's a little cripple going to become the Rawkfawler Heir?" Jennifer said, anger giving her tongue a blade's edge.

"Do you really want to know?" Timothy said, his face seeming to relax back into utter indifferent calmness. It was as if an ice statue had suddenly been carved to resemble a young boy, then dressed in perfectly tailored threads.

For a brief moment Jennifer felt fear, before anger overcame it, "Everyone knows the name of Rawkfawler House. Everyone knows how the Heir has to be the strongest, fastest, most superior wizard to become Patriarch. There's no way a cripple, such as you Timothy, could succeed. When the Challenges start a little over a decade from now, your opponents will carve you into pieces." For a moment time seemed to stand still as the bodyguards behind Timothy stilled into motionlessness. It felt like the time Jennifer was kidnapped, when only the capriciousness of a Dark Wizard's obsession with chess had prevented death. That same razor edge feeling, as if the world was balancing on the thinnest of margins.

Deep glowing pits of azure blue flashed underneath the black silk seer-headband that bound Timothy's eyes. A terrible color that seemed to draw all the heat from the air, like a doorway into an ice cold realm of death. Both her bodyguards grabbed wrist wand sheaths preparing to draw.

"Ah, ah! Careful there gentleman." the male bodyguard said, his wand as well as the middle-aged female's, already out and covering the pair of twins. Marcus and Marvin froze, both brothers sensing barely hidden killing from the boy's guards.

"Let's let the children talk it out, eh?" the lady said, a cold smile on her face. Her expression said it would be a frozen day in the deepest pits of Hell when her charge was attacked without fatal repercussions. Jennifer could clearly feel the frozen chill coming from Timothy, and her lips grinned expecting a good show.

Timothy spoke, his voice barely above a whisper, yet somehow able to be heard clearly, "Little butterfly, so ignorant, so proud. Let me correct the mistake made in raising such a useless creature. My eyes see more clearly than anything such a pitiful mind could possibly comprehend. I can see _everything_ , even the things other's do not. For example, little butterfly, how are the headaches every morning doing? It must be hard, so very hard, to be such a disappointment. I bet Mr. and Mrs. Smith secretly wish they had a more talented daughter, someone that Salem would actually be interested in. I mean, interested for more than just the family name. Or is it possible that they don't know yet? Perhaps you haven't told your parents the awful truth. After all, it might give them a heart attack. To know their daughter is barely a hair's breadth above being a No-Maj, practically a _Squib_. I bet the only thing such a girl could cast would be the Levitation Charm." Timothy's venomous words struck directly into Jennifer's mind. She gasped her hand covering her mouth.

 _How, how could he possibly know!? I haven't told anyone!_ Jennifer thought, tears crowding her albino eyes.

"Such a pitiful little butterfly, not even recognizing who is truly blind. Depart, if you dare return, be sure to learn manners first. _Insect._ " Timothy said, giving a small wave with his sapphire ringed right hand. Marcus and Marvin immediately took action. Marcus grabbed their charge in a hug, practically whirling her away. Marvin rapidly put the chess set away before glancing with lethal anger at Timothy.

"Was that really necessary?" Marvin spat, before departing after his brother.

(((****)))

Timothy watched the small girl departing, crying her eyes out into the bodyguard's shoulder with a faint smile. Shrugging, he took out his frozen potions from the storage ring. Unfreezing them, he started once more on a particularly fun concoction that would give a splash of color to the somber clothing many people wore.

Lily and Shamus put their wands away before Lily spoke, "I agree. Is it really necessary to make an enemy of such a cute little girl?"

"Jennifer Smith should worship the ground I walk upon. Were it not for the desire to build relations with the first future female M.C.U.S.A. President I wouldn't have bothered to aid her." Tim said, his hands deftly measuring and sifting ingredients into the potion.

Shamus's face seemed to twist before he blurted out, "A-Aided?!"

"Of course, who else do you think could see the imbalance twisting through the golden veins in her head? I Un-Raveled the ridiculous mess that some sick bastard cursed her with. It was probably a Dark Wizard's work, some of the spell tasted faintly like dark licorice." Tim said, making a distasteful face, as he carefully tapped in a strange orange powder to the potion's mixture.

Only decades of maintaining a poker face under the most stressful situations saved the two guards. Lily and Shamus managed to prevent their eyes bulging, or gaping at their charge in jaw-dropping shock like deer in the headlights. If his claim was to be believed he'd removed a curse without any apparent visible effort, the likes of which they hadn't even detected.

Tim turned around pausing in his potion making to say, "Did you really think I bothered to play chess for so long, or blathered all that crap for kicks and giggles? I was delaying for time. That was some seriously messed up spellwork, I couldn't Un-Ravel it in a snap like I do normal combat stuff. Someone put a lot of care into cursing her, I had to burn up a lot of energy and concentration on it."

Turning back to his potion making Tim noticed a strange orange mist starting to creep out from his cauldron.

"I don't think it's supposed to do that…" Tim mumbled unaware that his two bodyguards had instantly Shielded themselves out of reflex. Both of them were quite familiar with the signs of a potion disaster in the making. Padma Longbottom, Potion Mistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry often felt the best way for her students to learn was experimentation. Experimentation as all potion students knew had rather…explosive…results, most of the time.

Seconds later, a loud explosion occurred dying the seer-headband Tim wore a deep orange. It also managed to alter his raven black hair into something resembling a lighting struck frizzy disaster. Small soot stains marred his otherwise pale face, it was everything both bodyguards could do to stop laughing. The surrounding Wards managed to block sound from going out, but that in turn made the sound inside them all the louder. Ears ringing, all three individuals winced shaking their heads to clear them.

"Perhaps too much Butterscotch? There is a faint smell of it now." Tim said, with a sigh. There was no point in stressing out. Potions were just never going to be his favorite subject. Lily and Shamus pulled a few Cleaning Charms out, and everything was quickly fixed. Unfortunately though, the bright orange of Tim's seer-headband appeared to be resistant to magical cleaning. Same for his frizzy hair, now stuck in a lightning strike look towards the ceiling.

"A good house-elf could probably solve this. Just have one of them look at it when you get home." Shamus said, with a smile.

"I will, thank you." Tim said, now appearing slightly less daunting dressed in a black suite with a bright orange headband covering his eyes. He didn't bother to mention his House used Sprites instead, that was a security secret. Even if these were bodyguards his dad trusted, he obviously didn't trust them enough to tell them anything about the House's security. Taking the unspoken yet communicated hint, neither did Tim.

His dad and mom were returning to the table their son was at after a few hours rubbing elbows with the great and powerful. It was tiresome attending these functions, and Tim knew his dad would much rather take a rusty hacksaw to his elbow than attend more than one a year. Sadly, mom seemed to delight in them causing no end of headache for his dad's mental sanity.

 _Well, at least dad gets to wrestle with mom later, although I still don't understand why he's always wearing a big smile afterward._ Tim thought, with a shrug.

Upon returning to the table flanked with their bodyguards in tow, both parents managed to restrain themselves at the sight of their son. It was difficult, as his appearance now was both unbearably cute, and unbecomingly amusing.

"What a marvelous new application of color, Tim. I didn't realize you were going for such a…bold…look." his mom said, hand covering her mouth while her shoulders shook.

Tim sighed.

"Yes, truly my son. A very…adventurous…visage." his dad said, placing one arm around mom's shoulders before they both hugged each other, erupting in mirthful laughter.

Tim sighed again.

"Mooooooooom!" Tim said, a plaintive cry in his voice as the laughter turned into kissing.

Both his parents momentarily ignored him, lost in their own world.

Tim rolled his eyes and said, "Parents!" in mock disgust.

After both parents had managed to calm down from the almost hysterical amusement, they took a seat at the table. Bruce Parkinson and Danielle Dugan took up positions against the wall with their respective gender partners.

"So, how did things go? I understand that we've isolated you son, with all the training, but it is for the best." his dad said, placing his hands on the table and folding them. His dad took on a more serious tone, "There's a disease, I believe, at the heart of American magical society. The total and utter disrespect for those without magic. _Squibs_ receive better treatment than our No-Maj, and that is completely ridiculous. For example, computers, those marvelous machines alone have the potential to revolutionize our world. Once someone solves the Tristal Tangent Equation, named after Bartholomew Tristal, we will be able to combine computers AND magic!"

"Yes, yes dear, wonderful, amazing. Truly a modern genius." Tim's mother said, just before kissing her husband on his flushed cheek. It always excited mom to see his dad sparkling with the mad genius unique to the Rawkfawler line. They had expanded their roots deep into the global economy with the Morganstein Company. Even then, Rawkfawler line was known for producing the odd hobby obsessed maniac here and there. No one really minded though, because such individuals always added to the bottom line.

"After listening to your dad's outburst on his favorite subject, let's turn to something a bit more serious." his mom said, her face still faintly smiling, "Who is the new teacher you gained in the Library?"

"Sifu the Book." Tim said, his hands tightening into fists under the table. He well understood the power of his parents. Should they decide Sifu wasn't a teacher worth keeping, they would take action.

 _Who knows the damage that could be dealt to me trying to remove Sifu the Book from my 'Wal' it could turn me into an imbecile, or worse._ Tim thought, with a slight suppressed shudder.

His mother leaned in propping her elbows on the table and placing her chin in the upright palms, "Is _She_ pretty?" A faint knowing smile drew itself on his mom's face.

Tim blushed a little before saying bashfully, "She sounds really awesome mom. Almost as good as you do when teaching me all that drivel, I mean, No-Maj educational stuff. It's like warm chocolate mixed with spices. Her energy doesn't show any strange colors either, a fine pure super pretty silverish-white."

Both of his parents appeared taken aback, although neither one looked unhappy.

His mother's tone changed to more respectful before she said, "The color, does it look like our House rings?" Tim glanced down at his ring noting the same silver sheen before replying, "Yes, it's the same not-silver color."

"Platinum energy!" Both his parents said, in a whisper of shock.

"It's the same color my magic veins are, isn't that normal?" Tim said confused.

Both of his parents looked at him with sudden serious expressions, and Tim said almost crying, "I-Is it b-bad?"

His mother was out of her seat and hugging him to her chest in a flash, "No, it's not my baby, it's nothing bad at all. You just managed to surprise us both that's all. When we had you tested as a child the color was golden. This woman, Sifu, did she help you change them?"

"Y-yes." Tim said, not seeing the astonished look that passed between his parents.

"I think we should discuss this more at the House." his dad said, gesturing to the bodyguards to depart.

Tim allowed himself to be carried by his mom, chin resting on her shoulder, as the family gathered together to head out. It was from this position that he managed to see something strange as they neared the exit to the room.

The nearby waiters that had been circulating and serving the partygoers suddenly had wands slipping out of their sleeves into waiting hands.

Tim recognized the threat immediately because his eyes could see the horrifying buildup of magical energy. As the first flash of green light hit their targets he screamed, "CHOCOLATE!" at the top of his lungs, hoping he was in time.

(((****)))

Bruce Parkinson's training had moved from simple muscle memory to the level of reflexes. The previously agreed on code words, although frivolously decided by a child, were nonetheless remembered.

Without knowing the exact situation the team tackled their employers to the ground behind a table near the exit. Kicking the table into a makeshift barrier, four separate harmonic Shields were layered immediately.

This instinctive level reaction was the only reason the Rawkfawler direct descent line survived that day.

As green flashes of the Killing Curse started flying around, Charles grabbed Bruce and Shamus, Melissa grabbed Lily, and Tim's small hand took Danielle by the shoulder.

"SLIPSHOD! POINT THREE! EXECUTE!" Charles Rawkfawler shouted, triggering the Emergency Portkey every family member had. The conditions for use also included any living being they were touching at the time.

In a sickening lurch everyone in the group was launched to the third pre-prepared safe point.

Without stopping after they appeared, Charles immediately summoned a green crystal out of his Patriarch spatial storage ring crushing it.

Bruce knew that type of green crystal well, it was a Summon Stone worth close to a hundred million Dragots on the black market. During his Auror days, it was a favorite of Dark Wizard organizations to call reinforcements.

The crystal was linked to three separate agencies that the Rawkfawler House employed for 24 hour emergency support. Each agency had over a hundred trained professionals, just a level below the personal guards they'd taken to the Presidential Ball.

Three direct Portals, a unique American Auror magic with enormous limitations and cost opened on the safe point spilling troops out. There were people dressed in dark charmed robes, those dressed in armor like medieval knights, and lastly individuals in modern combat gear with the letters S.W.A.T.U. on the chest pieces. The room's Bito(Bigger In Than Out) Charm provided enough space for everyone to assemble without crowding.

"There are an unknown number of enemies. Anyone with a wand that isn't us, is a target." Charles Rawkfawler waved his wand projecting the image of Jennifer Smith, her father, and her mother. "These are our Priority ONE rescues!" he said, next a few more images flashed denoting important members of the Council and their rank of priority.

"Knights first, setup the defenses, S.W.A.T.U. second, Auras last." Bruce said, before a new set of three Portals opened up into a scene of chaos.

The Rawkfawler Heir's mother sat on a chair off to the side whispering comforting words to him, "Honey you were fantastic, you did a great job recognizing the threat. People died, but that's not your fault. You are not a god, you did your best." Bruce nodded, the kid had done good spotting the threat.

The gathered forces immediately streamed through the open portals in coordination, all of them linked in the Magi-Com Command Net. Communication channels were separated into General, Command, and Private chat. General chat was for each division, Aura, Knight Templar, and S.W.A.T.U. to use among themselves. Command was between officers, and Private was for keeping the Patriarch abreast of things. Bruce made sure a Private channel was always open to update his employer, Charles Rawkfawler, in case anything needing oversight cropped up.

The Rawkfawler House might be providing an armed response, but they certainly were not charging back into battle. That was what Bruce and his partners had been hired for.

As he entered the Portal, Bruce glanced at the Knight Templars streaming out the other end with him. Each of the Knight Templars carried a tower shield almost as tall as them. Along with magically enchanted armor granting enormous strength, it made them the equal of walking tanks. As they arrived at the Presidential Ball, the Knights formed up in a skirmish line, preventing curses that could be blocked with a physical barrier. Behind the knights were sniper-level gunman in modern tactical gear with S.W.A.T.U. on their tac-vests. Their guns and bullets were both Charmed to provide maximum accuracy combined with overwhelming damage. The final rank behind the gunners, were Aura, a special trained wizard unit made up completely of Ex-Aurors. The Aura provided support spells, Shields, and very rarely combat Curses.

"Defensive setup, moving Fortress!" Bruce shouted, and like a well-oiled war machine the gathered forces obeyed.

Several small cookie-sized metal golems were thrown down in front of the current forces. Enlargement Charms expanded them into gigantic proportions. The new-made Tank Golems, controlled by Aura, were positioned in a way that allowed snipers to take shooting positions on them. Thus shielded and safe from effective return fire, the S.W.A.T.U. started to thin enemy ranks. The back end of the Tank Golems opened up allowing Aura wizards to flood up a short ramp to get inside. Charms, Shields, and new protrusions that casted heavy Curse magic started to form on each of the golems as they plodded forward on rolling treads.

The Presidential Ball was held in a Bito Charmed room in the Pentagon, enough to hold two football fields comfortably. Since it was one of the highlights of the social season, it was appropriately bedecked in lavish comfort.

Here and there Knights could be seen patrolling around their assigned Tank Golems, absorbing Killing Curses on their tower shields to stop damage from hitting the golems. Charmed to reflect almost all offensive magic, these massive tower shields were also self-repairing. Unlike thirty plus years ago, when Harry Potter's goblin wrought shield had shattered in combat against Voldemort, these devices were truly monstrous. In addition to the vicious shields, the glowing black longswords the Knights used also cut through most known, non-ritual, defensive magic. The Knights put them to good use loping off limbs, legs, or heads from the enemy wizards that came too close to the Tank Golems. Like the infantrymen of old, the Knights defended their golems preventing any effective counterattack aimed at slowing their movement.

Behind the Knights, up in Shielded nests on each Tank Golem, S.W.A.T.U. snipers took a grievous toll on those enemy wizards that escaped the Knight Templars violent melee attacks.

The third, and final, tier of offense was the Aura who threw overwhelming concentrated Curses at key targets. Additionally, a small portion of the Aura were providing support to both of the other forces. The Aura gave Strength, Speed, and Shields to everyone from inside the moving Tank Golems.

Within a few minutes of combat, the enemy forces started trying to surrender.

"Assassins deserve no quarter. Scum like this isn't needed in the wizarding world." Bruce said into the communication net.

"Agree." Danielle said.

"Agree." Shamus said.

"Agree." Lily said.

"So mote it be." Bruce said after conversing with the other officers, his voice delivering no mercy to the enemies. Rawkfawler wasn't a Dark House by any means, however, Charles didn't countermand his order either.

 _We barely got out of this alive to retaliate. Our employer obviously feels an object lesson for these bastards is the right move._ Bruce thought, his opinions affirmed by the lack of refusal to counter the kill order.

After giving the order for total annihilation, Bruce Parkinson accompanying Unit #1 were the first on the scene to the section where the President of the M.C.U.S.A. had managed to hold out. Several members of the Council had thrown up a hasty barricade of tables, chairs, and Transfigured items.

As the Tank Golem drew closer, the frightened witches and wizards threw spells ineffectively at it in fear.

" **Please remain calm. We are Morganstein Private Security Forces.** " Bruce said, in an Amplified voice.

"Morganstein!"

"We're saved!"

Cheers from the Council wizards and witches that finally saw hope after the surprise attack were loud. Overwhelming relief was seen on the faces of many peeking out from behind their barricade.

" **Currently we are in the process of mopping-up enemy forces, please remain here while we do so.** " Bruce said, his voice projecting calming assurance.

Two more of the Tank Golems were called over to Bruce's position while the rest of the forces continued sweeping the Ballroom clear of enemies. The enemy were identified as the infiltration unit of the largest Scourer organization, Burning Blood. Burning Blood had long desired to decapitate the ruling M.C.U.S.A. and place themselves as the leaders of the American magic community.

Bruce Parkinson communicated the findings immediately to Charles Rawkfawler over the Magi-Com Command Net.

"Are we certain it's them?" Charles said, distress evident in his voice. The terrorist organization had long been considered a headache, but not a real threat. Their preaching of wizard supremacy and anarchy were thought to hold little sway among the masses. Apparently, that concept was merely a false front generated by Burning Blood to hide their real atrocities.

"All of them have the Amulets. We estimate from eyewitness reports, it was a planned massacre. They appeared to be aiming for John Smith, the new President." Bruce said, his voice serious. "Without a doubt, this was decades in the planning. All of them had forged identities dating back at least twenty years. We're running scans now against the Database at Morganstein. It looks like the waiters were the first wave, then they used a Wardbreaker to setup a temporary Portal, sir."

"Suicidal!" Charles gasped.

"That's how fanatics are, sir. They don't consider the cost, I mean in terms of human life, the Wardbreaker alone costed thirty willing sacrifices, and you can't Imperious them. No one can use that magic without soul death, at the least. We've closed off the Portal and set new Wards on the place. It should be secure within the half-hour, sir." Bruce said, his voice had a sad melancholy tone.

Charles immediately realized something was wrong, "Who did they get?"

"Smith's wife, Angelica. She leaped in front of her daughter, Jennifer, to prevent the worst. John Smith, I mean the President, isn't taking it well. The little girl Jennifer was asking to speak with you though, should I put her on?" Bruce said.

"Do it." Charles replied, in a snap decision.

"H-hello?" a small girl's voice entered the Magi-Com Command Net.

"Hello, darling. How are you doing, Jennifer?" Charles said, in a warm voice.

"Daddy is not going to recover in time to lead the country, immediately. We need to take action without delay. I'm going to return to our house with Mom's body, and him. Before he recovers from the shock, I was wonder if I have Mr. Rawkfawler's _full_ support?" Jennifer said, in a calculating tone. Her voice held barely suppressed rage, chilled, like a frozen hell.

"What type of support would you require?" Charles said, cautiously.

"We both need something out of this. I need to know my mom didn't die in vain defending me from crazed lunatics. Rawkfawler House needs their latest proposal green lit through the Exchange Student program." Jennifer said, pausing before continuing, "Desperate times call for unique solutions. I will use _any_ means to make sure I don't lose Daddy to grief. Some of those methods will make him more, suggestible, in order to calm him. During that time, I'm sure it would be possible to get a few Presidential Executive Orders passed." Jennifer said, her tone conjuring visions of ice caverns and frostbitten bodies.

Charles Rawkfawler appeared impressed, the girl wasn't a crying train wreck and already had a workable solution to her desires. Granted, what she was suggesting was highly illegal, but it would be effective. Before the President was able to function again, the country still needed a leader. If that leader happened to barely reach Bruce's knees it didn't matter, as long as she was competent. The use of a Presidential Executive Order would carry Immunity as well, granting Charles son Timothy the status of Exchange Student Ambassador to Britain. It would provide another layer of protection for the boy, so Bruce wasn't shocked at what happened next.

"I always look forward to working with future leaders of our great nation." Charles said, his tone conveying the double meaning, "Bruce, please make sure the Smith family has _everything_ they need taken care of."

"Acknowledged, sir." Bruce said realizing he had just entered into his employer's inner circle of trust. Eager to show his abilities once more he acted quickly, a few short messages later Jennifer Smith was granted access to the Command channel of a very specialized unit assembled per her orders.

As many ideas were formed and plans created, Bruce could already imagine the papers tomorrow.

(((****)))

 **PRESIDENT MAULED, ASSASSINS FALL, ALL AT THE BALL!**

A goblin and elderly gentleman sat together watching an older lady, a middle aged lady, and young girl play in the small patch of garden nearby. The table they sat at was a wrought iron construction with amply padded chairs. A house elf stood nearby, garbed in a tuxedo of expensive cut and cloth. On the table between goblin and man a copy of Freedom's Pharsight lay, it was the most accurate paper in America.

"What do you think Assistant Ambassador Zakkclaw? Will this affect our attempts to secure relations with America?" the man said. His eyes were a bright green, barely tinted with aging. A relaxed casual business suit adorned him, finely tailored to fit. Gray hair had started to creep its way onto his head, but he still had a commanding air about him. This commanding air was slightly spoiled when he cooed and wiggled his hands at his granddaughter nearby. She giggled back and turned his salt and pepper hair orange and green.

"Oh dear, that wasn't quite what I expected when I taught her color Charms. Sorry, Harry dear." the older lady said, hiding a grin behind her gloved hand. All three women were dressed for an outing in the sunshine glade. The elderly woman had a dress that wouldn't do any Victorian grandmother wrong. The middle aged lady had a perfect casual pantsuit, and held a small folder notebook. Least professional of them all, was the little girl, dressed in a one piece floral print dress and holding a small wooden wand.

"If you can pull away from teasing Tiffany for a moment, boss, I think I can run down the list of potential pitfalls." Zakkclaw said, his own suit carefully crafted by the finest goblin tailors. He ignored the fact that it was currently a hideous purple and green shade.

"What do you think Hermione, Luna, and Tiffany? Should I let Zakkclaw ruin the mood with serious business?" Harry said.

In response, the older lady, Hermione pulled out a wand and created a Ward around the ladies. Clearly, the witch was powerful, as the Ward blocked all sound of the previous playful childish laughter.

"Well, I guess that solves that." Harry said, turning to face Zakkclaw directly.

Zakkclaw leaned on the table grabbing a cake, before taking a sip of his tea. "We've got three main problems here. First, we need to identify how America responds to this attack. Second, we need to take the opportunity to make inroads with the M.C.U.S.A. as soon as possible. Third, we need to figure out exactly what Morganstein Company did. I am getting conflicting reports from Goblin Intelligence on the matter. Not a lot of information is flowing out from America, but what is disturbs me."

"Explain." Harry said.

"Morganstein Company as everyone well knows is the only global banking business besides Gringotts. America, unlike Britain, immediately realized the potential threat of having their banks under non-human control. Since the 1700's they have competed, ever more successfully, with us goblins. Morganstein is owned wholly by the Rawkfawler House, which is controlled by the current Patriarch, Charles Rawkfawler. The Patriarch has always desired better relations with us, while refusing any attempts to break his stranglehold on America. Goblin Intelligence has been able to finally produce the fact that him, and his wife Melissa Rawkfawler, have a child. The boy, or girl, is apparently kept out of the public eye quite a bit, like my goddaughter Tiffany." Zakkclaw paused to get another cake before continuing, "The child, known as the Rawkfawler Heir, was making an appearance at the Presidential Ball. According to many conflicting sources, he is a blind seer. No one is really clear on if that is true or not, though. My sources indicate he seemingly predicted the attack, and with his warning, the Patriarch made it out. What came next is the real meat of the matter."

"Go on." Harry said.

"The Rawkfawler Response as it's being called by all intelligence agencies, was brutal. Seconds after escaping out of the Ball by Portkey, their forces returned en masse. Knight Templars, S.W.A.T.U. gunners, and Aura. The best of the best, summoned in seconds, and spared no expense to Portal inside the Ball with brutal results. The Aura produced some type of mechanical Tank Golem, and the rest is covered in Freedom Pharsight." said Zakkclaw tapping the paper on the table between them with a well manicured claw. As a result of Tiffany experimenting with color Charms, the claw was a solid electric blue. "They crushed the attackers, rescued the President, and pretty much saved the day. What worries me is the technology they showed. Rawkfawler plays most of his power close to his pinstriped chest, it boggles the mind that he's willing to show so much, now, merely to save a few bigwigs on M.C.U.S.A." Zakkclaw said, gulping down more tea with a somewhat worried expression.

"Zak, what would you do if someone tried to kill Tiffany?" Harry said, turning to face the goblin across the table suddenly.

"I'd call the Centurions, activate the Special Unit, and when we were finished, light the remains on fire." Zakkclaw said, his face showing how obvious the answer was.

"And there you have the reason why Rawkfawler responded so harshly. I bet they barely missed being murdered. Charles Rawkfawler, like me, would never let someone who struck at his family go free a second longer than he could fix." Harry took a small sip of tea before continuing, "From a goblin perspective, he reacted completely appropriate. Not everyone has the stomach to issue kill orders in such a situation. I have no doubt, he sees no reason to let a threat to his son live. Open up a dialogue with Rawkfawler on the side, see if there's anything we can help him with. Both nations, Europe and America, need to stand firm against the current Chinese expansionist policy." Harry said turning away from Zakkclaw.

Harry finished his tea, and motioned to Hermione, his wife. Nodding she took down the Warded barrier. Peals of childish laughter rang out as Tiffany enacted a new charm that turned her grandfather's suit bright yellow. He smiled and caught the imp as she ran and jumped up to his chair.

This was everything he had worked so hard all those years against Voldemort for, and nothing, not even an ancient Chinese Emperor would take it away from him.


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling._

 _Some of the subject matter within is taken from other stories, times, places, dimensions, and planes of existence._

 _Because, the magic never truly ends._

 **Chapter Four: Hell Training (1)**

Tim lay comfortably in a bed of fluffy grass on the training ground. His bed of greenery was tended by Sprites who were competing on who could make each new nest better. Every new day in recent months, the small bed of grass was surrounded by flowers scented to aid in sleep and relaxation. After training sessions with Master Cho, and the new instructor Sergeant Cliff, Tim would take a long rest. Lately, he'd started to prefer sleeping like this instead of in his House room. The last three months had been pure hell. In the aftermath of the Bloody Ball as it was now called, he'd taken to training like a fish to water.

Energy manipulation, forming numbers on the tips of his fingers, Un-Raveling without movement, all this and more became his daily bread and butter. Master Cho, true to form, met every excellent new lesson learned with an even harder challenge.

 _Construct a trap field for Teleporters in combat? Get introduced to mines. Learn to manipulate divine sense to check for mines? Get introduced to trigger curses. Master detection of curses through energy variation levels? Sergeant Cliff starts teaching Shen-To-Pai while wearing an invisibility suit. Figure out how to sense air current changes to fight invisible opponents? Ugh, something else will show up for sure. I asked for this though. I need to be even sharper than my opponents._ Tim thought, a shudder running through him. _Dull people, die fast._ An image of the innocents that hadn't even known death was coming for them at the Bloody Ball before green flashes started striking out, made him shudder.

Even with counseling sessions with Sergeant Cliff, who besides being a genius at almost all known M.M.A. (Magical Martial Arts), also was a shrink. Tim still had difficulty facing his utter and complete powerlessness during the Bloody Ball. It had taken almost a full month of therapy before he was able to make sense of things. His attitude towards training had become almost maniac. It got to the point where his dad had taken him aside to question him about it.

 _I guess it's good to realize my 'hobby' has woken up. It is another mark in my favor as Heir. To find out one has become a 'battle maniac' obsessed with training is unexpected._ Tim thought with a smile.

In the past few months Tim's clothing had changed a great deal. Sergeant Cliff taught M.M.A. while being a No-Maj, through the use of especially charmed gear. Enamored with the concept of Charming items to perform set functions in advance, he'd started experimenting. Although there were quite a few failures, which were usually followed by loud explosions, two projects succeeded. So far, Tim had been able to Charm his boots with _Adcelerare, Sivich,_ and _Silencio._ These Charms allowed him to move with increased speed, switch locations in short Teleport bursts, and sneak silently about. His only other piece of equipment that he'd managed to create was a plain silver ring on his left hand. After a solid month of constructing and re-working Charms, Tim managed to put _Lumos_ and _Eximere_ on the silver ring. This allowed him to flash a bright light, similar to No-Maj flash bombs, while exempting himself from the effect. From constant attempts, he'd found that his limit at the moment for successful, and _stable_ Charms was at three per gear. Improving his equipment though didn't stop merely at magic, Sergeant Cliff's expertise in non-magical combat was invaluable. From painstaking lessons Tim learned the art of ghillie suit creation from the Sergeant. Making a Ghillie Suit could take weeks, or even months, but it was worth it.

 _Imagine a combat suit that blends into any environment, removes human odor, creates perfect invisibility in plain sight. After watching that movie, the one with the aliens, I have even more ideas on how to make the perfect Ghillie Suit._ Tim thought with joy.

"Alright, wake up sleepyhead. Even though I can't see where you are with my eyes, I know you are around here. There wouldn't be so many Sprites if you weren't." Master Cho said, disturbing Tim's complacent daydreaming.

Tim rose from the bushes to another complaint, "Ugh, curses on that No-Maj bastard. How in the Seven Eternal Emperors names did Charles get ahold of that guy?" Master Cho said, before sighing. Cho was dressed in new and improved dueling robes that incorporated even more Charms than Tim. It had become something of a competition between Master and Disciple as to who could make the most _useful_ additions.

"Our employer as we all know lured me in with copious amounts of money and the chance to play with magical stuff." A third voice joined the party as a hulking greenery clad monster rose from a short distance away.

"Sarge Y-you!" Tim said, shocked at how close the No-Maj had gotten. He'd even managed to avoid the alarm spells placed around. _If it wasn't for the Sprites being practically the perfect counter to his skills, I probably would have been kicked awake, again._ Tim thought privately. Sergeant Cliff had a running wager with Tim on the side. Whenever either one of them managed to 'tag' the other, a favor was acquired. Currently, Tim was at a whopping two, while Sergeant Cliff had zero. The only reason he was at zero though was because Cliff kept begging for items to be charmed.

Master Cho had flat out refused to Charm so much as a paper clip for the No-Maj after he'd been singlehandedly beaten. As a result, Cliff had applied his rather considerable talents at bribery towards Tim. Innately knowing the weakness of small boys, such as curiosity, Sergeant Cliff had managed to lure Tim into the current wager. Now, every time that Tim owed a favor, it was spent charming a new piece of experimental gear for the Sergeant. Sergeant Cliff then used his charmed equipment to beat the ever living daylights out of Master Cho. Cho would then charm his gear even more to counter whatever the latest trick Sergeant Cliff used was. Then, Tim would need to improve his own gear to hold both of them at bay.

This vicious cycle had continued unabated for almost three months. On one hand Tim was improving at a stupendous rate in terms of combat skills, charm skills, and downright sneakiness. On the other hand, he was starting to get a little tired, even the inexhaustible energy of youth was lagging.

"…and as I said he's not going to learn anything if he's so worn out from this crap he can't think straight. Look at his current bed, I bet over half those flowers do nothing but help him relax and sleep peacefully. There's a time and place for brutal training, and there's a time and place for fishing. This month is a fishing month." Sergeant Cliff said, his sniper rifle slung across his back. He was projecting righteous anger at Master Cho, almost getting directly in the others face.

"Wasting an entire month doing nothing but trying to catch fish is insane. The boy doesn't have time for that!" Master Cho was arguing with heat.

"Oh? How bout we settle this one on one then?" Sergeant Cliff said, flexing his arms suggestively.

"Fine, I'll show you this time! No-Maj trickery won't be enough to save you!" Master Cho said, raising his wand in preparation. " _Stupe-"_ Cho's stunning spell didn't even get a chance.

Sergeant Cliff just smiled and pressed a small button he'd palmed previously, triggering the mines he'd pre-positioned a day ago. When the smoke, explosions, and dust had cleared Master Cho was unconscious on the ground. Even though Cho was unharmed, it was obvious the physical shielding hadn't fared well against the multiple concussive mines used. Sergeant Cliff checked to make sure the wizard was still alive, before turning to walk back to Tim.

"Fight fair against a magic user? Pleeeeeease." Sergeant Cliff said, while tossing a piece of paper towards the prone wizard behind him.

"Please make sure the paper gets read by him, honored Sprites. I'm taking my student to learn the art of fishing." Sergeant Cliff said politely.

Tim followed mutely behind the Sergeant as they departed.

(((****)))

Staring at the fishing pole in his hand, Tim asked, "Um…Sarge, we are going to catch food with these? How, exactly?" Tim had previously tried to use Cliff's name, but after learning Sarge was a term the man respected more, he switched to that instead.

Sergeant Cliff made an exaggerated gasping noise, "What!? No one has taught you how to fish yet? Utter nonsense. It's a critical skill for any growing boy. Look here, we start with worms and hooks…" Slowly the ghillie suited man began a lengthy explanation.

After a ten minute explanation on how to bait, use lures, and the value of patience Tim started his first fishing session. Apparently the Sergeant had gotten Tim's father to create a large artificial pond, exclusively for this. Tim hadn't known about it since the Sprites were using Disillussionment on the entire area while taking care of it. There was probably no pond with as much healthy productive greenery, flowers, and shady trees anywhere else in the world.

Once both man and boy were seated on comfortable chairs with lines cast in the water, Cliff started up the conversation, "So, anything you want to talk about?" Reaching down to the ice bucket near his chair he popped open a beer, taking a large gulp.

Tim reached down and got a soda of his own, from a similarly positioned ice bucket. Tim felt comfortable with Cliff, like an older brother, and so he asked something he'd grown curious about. "Dad has been wrestling a lot with mom around the house. Does that mean he's angry with her? Should I be worried?" Tim was surprised at the choking noise, followed by extensive coughing that Cliff suddenly was hit by.

"I'm sorry, that's a question that is better addressed to your parents. I don't think I can properly do the explanation justice." Sergeant Cliff said grinning widely. "It's best if you ask your mother about that, Tim. I'm sure she can handle it appropriately."

"Oh, ok." Tim said, growing even more curious.

"Anything else, kid?" Sergeant Cliff said, casting his line out again.

"I met a girl at the Bloody Ball, but I wasn't very nice to her. It's been bothering me a little. I fixed a problem she had with her magic due to a curse, though. Shouldn't that balance things out, in my favor?" Tim said, managing to cast his line a second time without tangling it.

"Kid, women don't think the way we do. Their brains remember every insult, save it up, and repay with interest. If she's as young as you Tim, then you have a chance for a reversal." Sergeant Cliff said with a serious expression.

"Oh, that's good then she's the same age." Tim said, nodding as he watched his bobber on the water.

"Well in that case, find something she wants a great deal and sent it to her as a gift. The more rare and difficult something is for a girl to get, the more she appreciates when it appears for her." Sergeant Cliff said, smirking.

Tim nodded, the same logic was applied when bribing enemy company employees. A variation also worked well when promoting new staff from inside Morganstein. Tim was once again impressed with the Sergeant's cunning.

"Her mother was killed by Burning Blood, the Scourer terrorist organization." Tim said, deep in thought. Summoning one of the house Sprites perched on the ice bucket rim, Tim gave a few instructions to her.

"So what kind of present did you decide on?" Cliff said, while reeling in fish slowly.

"I put a ten million dollar bounty on the head of the leader of Burning Blood, and a five million dollar bounty on any close associates. Do you think that's a nice enough present?" Tim said, before shouting as he hooked his first fish to reel in.

"I'm not sure if that's exactly the present I would have recommended…" Sergeant Cliff said, before shrugging, "Well, if that makes her happy I guess it works well enough."

"Is it fun teaching me?" Tim asked, as he stared relentlessly at his bobber.

"It's definitely a new experience teaching someone so young. On the other hand I don't have to go through breaking down a lot of bad habits. Just introducing you to new ones, kid."

"Like setting alarms, tripwires, mines, magical traps, curse triggers, and so on Sarge?"

"Exactly. Paranoia is healthy, _especially_ for the rich and powerful. It takes a bit, but once the skills I'm teaching you become habits, you won't regret them. Next year we'll be working on more advanced stuff, and the third year even more exotic things. The last year just before you head to school, I plan on showing you how to setup important stuff. Things like safe houses, dead drop locations, gear storage spots, and more. Just because you will be in another country is no reason not to be fully prepared for the worst, kid."

"Is there anything I know that could help tailor my training better, Sarge?

"I do admit I'm curious how you keep managing to find me no matter what, until I stopped using any and all magical gear while doing it. I thought you were blind, right?"

"I can see energy, and I use a variation of _sonar_ to see things that don't have energy. Between the two detection systems I do pretty well. Would you suggest any improvements, Sarge?"

"Absolutely. Find a way to improve your sense of smell, and learn to detect things by scent. That way if something has a way to hide magical energy, or manipulate sound around them you still know they are there. You've done real well with sensing air changes, so train your sense of touch further to the point where you feel the air in a wide area around you. I would also recommend you figure out a way to immunize yourself to most forms of poison, and train how to recognize them by taste alone. Granted, you frankly suck at Potions, but that's not something I can help with, kid. I would also keep trying to create those 'trigger' spells, and the other one, what was it…ah! Yes, try to get transfigures to be permanent. I'm not really sure how to do either of those, but you did go on about them for hours so I figure you're motivated at least."

Sergeant Cliff leaned back into his chair before opening a second beer, after tossing the first one he'd finished in a nearby garbage can. "Now, let's talk about fishing." Sergeant Cliff said, as he took a long pull on his new beer. The fish he'd slowly just caught while talking was placed on the stringer to keep it fresh.

Tim slowly reeled his first catch in, and placed it on the stringer as well while listening.

"Fishing has many relations to life. The main purpose however, is peaceful contemplation. Training, grinding against the whetstone of life, that's good. Do not overdo those things though! If a person doesn't take a peaceful break to solidify their foundation every so often, everything they build is just a house of cards. A single setback and it would all collapse like a chain of dominoes. Understand, kid?" Sergeant Cliff said, after finishing his piece he lay back on the chair. Tipping his hat over his eyes to indicate he was done, light snoring could be heard issuing from him in seconds.

 _I guess what he was saying is, don't destroy your foundation by working so much its unstable._ Tim thought, leaning back. A quick whisper to the Sprites nearby and his chair started to grow greenery. After a few minutes it was a slightly improved version of his previous bed from the training ground. _Sergeant Cliff is right. All work and no play is unhealthy. I need to be moderate in my obsessions._ With that thought, he dropped off into a deep relaxing sleep.

Out on the water, both man and boy were no longer in a position to see their bobbers submerging as fish devoured their bait completely.

(((****)))

Within a gigantic cavern of wood that seemed both endless and miniscule, a glowing book floated in the air. Slowly at first, then more rapidly the book started to shine with a brilliant light eclipsing the darkness. When the entire area was finally lit with the brilliance of a new born sun, a woman of unparalleled inhuman heavenly beauty appeared.

Blond hair like a golden waterfall fell down her back, eyes the color of blood red rubies, and skin of palest milky white jade. She was completely clothed in a sheer white robe that allowed tantalizing glimpses of soul devouring heavenly vistas. A visage that would make men drool with lustful desire, slowly melting their minds into slavish devotion had a devious smile of joy.

"Finally, I can manifest. At least the boy doesn't slack in fueling his _ki_ pool." the one known in this day and age as Sifu the Book said, stretching her arms and arching her back. An enormous yawn came and went like a splash of oil on a metal surface.

A small bird no bigger than a robin, yet constructed of nothing but flames exited the book behind Sifu.

" _We are taking a terrible risk. What if_ those creatures _are still alive? What if the Banishing didn't work!? We were forced to hide after it was cast, there is no telling what the world is like now!_ " the creature that resembled a fiery robin said.

"Calm down, no one would believe you were a Divine Bird once. You worry more than my first husband, Finny." Sifu said, with a heart-stopping smile.

" _Hey! Hey! Be serious! This is really bad! The boy is a mortal, a MORTAL! W-we are going to d-die in here!_ " Finny said, her voice rising to a panicked shriek. The fiery bird started whizzing to and fro in a terrified whirl of flames.

" **Calm down. Or go back to sleep. If you continue panicking I will,** _ **freeze**_ **you solid."** Sifu said her voice dropping the air around to sub-zero temperatures. Ice formed spreading briefly beneath her feet, while air condensed into snow momentarily. A brief flash of annoyance was carefully masked by indifference on her gorgeous features. Mastering her irritation, she moved away from the floating book that only had a dim glow now. Sifu moved in calm unhurried graceful steps across the velvet wooden floor in a manner that left no sound, like a ghost. Although it seemed like she was simply walking without effort, somehow she crossed the enormous space in moments to stand staring at a wooden wall. She paused just a few paces from the mysterious wooden barrier that stretched curving up and in a barely imperceptible manner.

 _A pure Life Root, how utterly transcendent. If I am unable to make a Prime out of this boy at the very least, I should be Obliterated for wasting such a treasure._ Sifu thought with delight. Raising one delicate hand, as white as the finest jade, she gently stroked the wooden wall. An almost sexual air of pleasure surrounded her, as her lips opened in a soft sigh. _Whoever is improving this child's body is a genius of the highest order. I can sense how it's being prepared, strengthened, refined, truly a top-tier Grandmaster at work. I merely had to make a few alterations to bring it closer to perfection._ Sifu thought with absolute ecstasy.

" _Stop making out with the boy's foundation, it is creepy Siffy._ " Finny said, settling down to perch on Sifu's left shoulder.

"So much potential, he might even be a match for _them_ in time." Sifu said, ignoring the chatterbox bird.

" _Not a chance, he still needs a Divine set of meridians, and a platinum reinforcement strain of pathway shielding. He's nothing but a stunted seedling right now._ " Finny said, her tone betraying disgust.

"Well then it's good that we have a way to solve that." Sifu said, bewitching ruby eyes glancing at Finny like a cat staring at prey.

" _W-what are y-you looking at me l-like that for?"_ Finny said, nervously.

" **Go burn out the required pathways. Or would you like me to turn you into an ice cube again? I might forget to unfreeze you this time…** " Sifu said, a twinkle of amusement in her eyes.

" _You're a demoness! Meanie! Bully! Evil Sorceress!_ " Finny said, as she sped away to begin carving the fine pathways required to give the boy who was their host a set of Divine meridians.

As the fiery bird started burning her way through the surrounding wooden Wal, Sifu ruby eyes glowed with entrancing light.

Kneeling down she stretched out a single index finger towards the floor. As the slender finger approached a brilliant green light gathered at the tip. When the tiny brilliant green light touched the velvet wooden floor a marvelous energy rippled underneath. The 'ground' viewed from above was as if a stone had been thrown in the middle of a calm placid pond. Starting from the point where Sifu was kneeling, greenery began to grow at an astonishing pace. Everything from grass, to weeds, flowers, to trees without pause or delay. Within a few minutes a complex forested tropical ecosystem established itself.

Rising from the ground, Sifu moved back towards the book with weary air about her. As she moved through the miraculous lush new area, a small smile curved across her bright red lips. Her smile held the mysterious promise of delights yet unimagined.

(((****)))

Tim woke up from his fishing nap with the feeling of fire ants biting on his skin, weirdly it felt like they were on the _inside_. Doing the diagnostic scan that Doctor Deeplung had demonstrated, he found nothing strange. It felt like there were more veins in his body than usual when he looked, but he'd never bothered to count them before so he wasn't sure. All the vessels and veins he could see with his _magesight_ looked the same platinum color so Tim decided it was probably just a weird byproduct.

 _I'll tell Doctor Deeplung about it at the next examination, this week._ Tim thought, filing the issue in the back of his mind. Late evening was starting to fall on the surrounding pond area, and in response the house Sprites started to glow like fireflies. The new pond appeared to be a favorite gathering spot as a large amount of the male Sprites were currently holding a mock dueling tournament over the water. Below them floating on bits of wood, pretty female Sprites cheered the menfolk on.

For a moment Tim wondered if it was safe for the Sprites, being that fish who ate bait, might mistake them for food as well. His fears proved unfounded, as while he watched, a large fish attempted to swallow a group of female Sprites. Before the fish could manage to make it back under the water, lines of blazing light crisscrossed its body. Seconds later the unfortunate fish disintegrated into a bloody spray of meaty chunks floating on the water. The group of beautiful girls that had almost been eaten, now turned into the eaters. Grabbing the floating meat, Tim watched as it was carried to a miniature grill at the shore of the pond in front of him.

"Wicked cool." Tim said, with a wide eyed grin.

"That was indeed one of the more interesting sights I've seen in my life." Sergeant Cliff said, tipping his ghillie suit hat back to reveal bright gray eyes full of alertness.

"Are we really going to fish for the entire month?" Tim said, hoping it was true.

"Of course. Cho might argue, but your dad has already given the final word. I may or may not have sneakily mentioned how tired and worn out you looked to your mom as well. She may or may not have browbeaten your poor dad until he agreed with me. Who knows?" Sergeant Cliff said, staring innocently back at Tim.

"Eh, that's tricky. I like it!" Tim said, reeling his line back in. Replacing the bait that had been devoured completely, he casted a small Lumos on the bobber. Glancing at Sergeant Cliff's bobber he repeated the spell.

"Not going back inside the house I take it, kid?"

"I like it outside more, Sarge."

If the Sergeant suspected Tim's newfound love of the outdoors had anything to do with the Bloody Ball, he kept it to himself.

"Well then, I guess we'll just see how many fish we can string up before dinner in a few hours. I know you could just wave your hands and get food from the Sprites kid. You shouldn't though, one day you might be without magical resources, if you don't know how to live off the land then…" Sergeant Cliff trailed off, his meaning clear to Tim as he glanced at a pile of fish bones near the Sprites.

 _There are plenty of places where using magic wouldn't be the optimal solution._ Tim thought, nodding to himself.

A few hours later the amount of fish had accumulated to just under twenty. Seventeen fish were attached across two stringer sets, helplessly awaiting their fates.

Sergeant Cliff demonstrated the basics of gutting the fish. He cut off the head tossing it into a soup pot, removed the organs, and separated out the bones. Then, Tim had to finish the other sixteen on his own. At first the thin knife moved haltingly through the fish, slowly though, as he became more familiar with the motions, Tim became faster. On the last three fish the speed accelerated to a silver streak with blurred hand motions.

Finishing the last fish, Tim was breathing roughly. _Applying the Boosting allowed me to speed up, but it's still a huge drain on magical reserves._ Tim thought with a flash of irritation. _I can't wait for Doctor Deeplung to plant the Silverthread in me._

"Well, that was impressive and all kid, but-" Sergeant Cliff pointed at Tim's non-knife hand.

"Eh?" Tim said stunned as he saw his hand bleeding from three separate cuts. "Ow!"

"Pain didn't register till you saw it, got a bit of adrenaline going for the last bit I see." Sergeant Cliff said, removing a first aid kit from the Bottomless Bag he used to keep equipment in.

"Owwwww!" Tim said as the alcohol stung him while being applied. Even though it wasn't at the level of the Torture Curse, it still _hurt_.

"Pain teaches responsibility. This time it was cuts, next time you lose focus it could be a finger, or even a hand. Stop being a baby and focus!" Sergeant Cliff said, giving Tim a light tap on the forehead with his index finger.

After first aid had been applied to the cuts, Tim lit the fire using _Incendio_ on tinder from his storage ring. Sergeant Cliff pulled out a set of metal skewers and a rack before setting the fillets out to cook. Meanwhile, Tim was creating fish stew in a cauldron set over the flames, half surrounded by the skewered fillets.

"Only naturally gathered roots, herbs, spices, and such. No cheating!" Sergeant Cliff said when Tim tried to add salt from his storage ring.

"What's the point of having limitless storage if I never use it?" Tim muttered under his breath, before chopping up an array of stuff he'd gathered from the training grounds beforehand. Sergeant Cliff had been teaching him No-Maj herbology, in order to help identify poisonous things.

 _I haven't poisoned us lately, well, not counting those spicy mushrooms._ Tim thought, remembering the constant visits to pray to the porcelain goddess they had caused.

After showing the things he was preparing to add to the soup to Sergeant Cliff, and receiving a nod of agreement, Tim added the natural spices to the simmering pot.

"I bet your thinking, 'what's the point of having a storage ring if I never use it' huh?" Sergeant Cliff said, as if he'd read Tim's mind. Moving to sit down he adjusted the skewers, flipping each fillet so the uncooked sides were now cooking.

"Uh…" Tim said, his face shocked.

"Simple. Because storage rings can be disenchanted, stolen, lost, and so on. Storage charmed items are fantastic don't get me wrong, but depending on them is dangerous." Sergeant Cliff said giving Tim a serious look. After receiving a small nod from the boy, the Sergeant seemed to believe the issue was settled.

Taking out a wooden spoon from his storage ring, Tim carefully stirred the pot, "At least my cooking doesn't have issues."

"Can't be good at everything, kid." Sergeant Cliff said with a grin. Tim's latest Potion incident had required almost six hours for the effects to fade away.

"It seemed that as my skill gets worse, the effects last _longer_. I stick to my claim it is the cauldrons fault. Honest." Tim said, in a low mutter. "I'm as good at Charms though as I am bad at Potions." he smiled, while stirring the pot carefully.

"That won't save you at Hogwarts, they don't grade O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s based on how good you are at one subject versus another." Sergeant Cliff said, checking on the fish fillet skewers carefully with oven mitts. "It's not a competition between your best and worst subjects. Well, I guess it doesn't matter since grades aren't the main goal. Not with being the Rawkfawler, eh?"

"Z'actly. I'm going to cement relationships, hobnob, and be mysteriously American!" Tim said, with enthusiasm.

"Oh ho, what about girlfriends, kid?"

"I bet I'll have tons of girls as my friend." Tim said, missing the innuendo. Tasting the soup carefully after blowing on it to cool, he declared, "It's done!" with an imperious gesture.

Sergeant Cliff did a small facepalm into one of his oven mitts before muttering, "I'll need to have a chat with your mom about that."

Taking out bowls, spoons, a small table, and a towel Tim created a dinner setting. Small plates were added and then piled high by Sergeant Cliff with fire grilled fish fillets.

"Delicious!"

"Hah, you doubted this old man's skill?"

"No…"

"What's with that shifty hesitant look!"

"Imagination."

"As if!"

"Getting old."

"Old!? Hah! Take that!"

"Waaah! Meat thief!"

"Nah na nah."

"Bully!"

"Ah, how did you-"

"Ninja chopsticks!"

"Ho ho, the counterattack!"

"Ugh, help Sprites!"

"Hey hey! No fair calling in reinforcements!"

"All's fair in war, you said it Sarge."

"I didn't think you were paying attention while sleep-drooling…"

Tim smirked as his Sprite allies managed to reap a large harvest of grilled fish skewers to add to his own. The battle over dinner was a harsh win, but worth it. Nodding to his allies, he distributed a cut of the stolen meat to them.

Sergeant Cliff's eyes narrowed before he said, "Tommorrow's training will need to be adjusted to increased difficulty, I see."

"Eeeep!" Tim said.

(((****)))

Charles Rawkfawler and his wife, Melissa Rawkfawler were snuggling in bed after an exhausting session of 'wrestling' as their son called it.

"Do you think we are pushing him too fast? Our boy will end up without a childhood at this rate." Melissa said, leaning her head on her husband's shoulder.

"We don't have a choice. Tension between all three of the major superpowers is ratcheting up exponentially after the Bloody Ball. We've even had an envoy from Cro-, I mean Potter himself. He used to be a fantastic Ambassador, but age, it's causing nearsightedness. He sees the motions the Chinese are making and doesn't want to give an inch. Instead of looking for a diplomatic solution, he's digging in." Charles said, stroking his wife's hair gently before kissing her forehead. "I authorized Cliff to give our boy a month off here and there to help him, but even with that, Cho's argument that we are wasting time bears weight."

"Cho can stuff himself, I'm not going to raise a battle-trained maniac on a hair trigger. Can you really blame Lord Potter? He's reacting the way he was raised. Goblins aren't known for logical movements against those they feel threaten their families. I can understand them a little, we would react similar to them. Or do you think offering expensive bounties on those Scourer scum makes us different?" Melissa said, with a sigh. "I just hate to see my only child sacrificed so the world can be tilted away from madness."

Charles was careful not to piss his wife off, "I read a little in the library. It seems his internal houseguest might be someone really amazing. If what I found is true, he's likely to have a _very_ long life ahead of him. I'm sure Tim will eventually be able to find time to enjoy himself."

"Charles Rawkfawler, if you try to fool me with that load of pig slop we are going to have words mark me." Melissa said, frowning in irritation.

Charles petted his wife some more before saying, "Allow me to apologize then."

"Mnnn. Better." Melissa said, as another round of 'wrestling' started.

(((****)))

A week later, in Doctor Deeplungs lab, Tim was preparing for the first session of inserting _Silverthread._ After he'd reported the itching fire ant sensation to Deeplung, the goblin Doctor had done an exhaustive examination. Eventually, Deeplung had concluded that _She_ had created magical pathways superior to normal veins. Tim hadn't noticed them because he didn't know exactly how many veins and vessels were in a human body. The new set of veins, that Deeplung had named _meridians_ from an ancient Chinese word, served as almost perfect routes for energy. With the addition of the _Silverthread_ , Deeplung theorized that Tim's coefficient in manipulation would rise by an exponential amount as he grew older.

"Ok, now lay back in the chair, there we go." Deeplung said, gently tightening the straps so Tim wouldn't hurt himself. "You'll feel a tiny pinch like the previous injections, then a sensation like molten lava is being poured into your veins. You've had some experience with _Crucio_ so, think about double that level of pain. Do your best to hold on and not pass out, the longer you can, the stronger your foundation will be."

Tim nodded, his face set in a determined calmness.

 _I won't disappoint everyone who has helped me reach this far, I WILL stay awake, and I WILL become stronger!_ Tim thought, with childish stubbornness.

A few moments later, Tim was twitching and shivering as if fevered. The _Silverthread_ was melding into his _meridians_ like quicksilver. The pain was so intense he couldn't even voice a scream. Seconds crept into minutes, and finally, darkness claimed him.

Sifu stared in amazement as a small oozing tide of silver crept from one of the _meridians_ Finny had burned into the boy's body.

"Finny have you ever seen something so strange?" she said, looking up at the hovering tiny fiery bird.

"I-it looks hungry, and _alive_!" Finny said nervously as she made trailing fires of figure eights.

Sifu floated up for a moment pondering then approached the section that was being invaded by the silver ooze. Her movements seemed slow, yet concealed a mysteriously incredible speed in them. Within seconds, she was directly above the creeping silver ooze, as it was approaching the forest she'd created. Raising one delicate white jade hand, she made a grasping motion towards the silver ooze.

The silver stuff seemed to resist her, attempting to pull back from her hand motion. With a furious frown, her eyes glowed a sudden deep blood red, murderous aura leaked out from Sifu's body. The surrounding silver ooze seemed to tremble in fear, when she made a second grasping motion the creeping mass reluctantly allowed a small piece to separate.

"Wise decision." Sifu said, with a devilish grin.

"What is it?" Finny said, perching on the floating woman's shoulder.

Sifu tested the substance in various ways running energy through it, manipulating its shape, and other things. Finally she announced, "It's a present from the genius that was making this boy's foundation. This stuff, it's like _mai-graln_ , but better!"

Finny gasped in amazement, "The same as Master's blood!?"

"Even better, this stuff, I'm going to take some of it for my own. But…right now, it needs better instructions in it. You don't kill a mosquito with a cannon." Sifu said, grimacing. "It's time to show this genius bastard the level that those of us who lived and breathed body manipulation were at back in our day."

"You don't mean…" Finny said, staring at Sifu's profile. Gorgeous lips curved in a demonic smile as Sifu said, "Exactly. I'll show this genius that they aren't the only one around here who can work miracles."

Sifu raised one finger high over her head and concentrated intently. Green light a thousand times superior to the previous amount she had used began to manifest at her fingertip.

" _ **IN THE NAME OF JADE, LORD OF THE GREEN FIELDS-**_ _"_ Sifu said pausing, her tone a magnetic command in the ancient tongue of her birthplace, " _ **GROW!**_ The brilliant green orb, the size of a marble was thrown into the silver ooze. Suddenly, it was as if lightning fed newborn bacteria from the primordial era. The silver ooze was, in moments, infiltrating into the forest, ground, walls, ceiling, and very air of the boy's 'Wal' cavern. Like a tiger given wings, it spread multiplying in ever increasing numbers without pause or delay. In moments, half of the endless expanse of greenery now bore silver veins, the ground velvety ground gained a mirror polish, and the air thickened with silver soup.

Sifu heaved an exhausted sigh, "I gambled correctly. It's a symbiotic existence tuned to the boy's D.N.A. chain. Thank the Jade Emperor I was right."

"Y-you gambled our e-existence!" Finny was shuddering in horror. "If it had consumed the Forest…we… _death_!"

"I didn't, it didn't. It was a calculated risk." Sifu coughed, a faint trickle of blood appearing at the corner of her enrapturing mouth. "Enough, I need to sleep and recover. Send the boy another set of exercises to reward him for increasing the _ki_ pool, and give him something special to mark this moment." Sifu said, before she floated off towards the glowing Book that was high above the increasingly silver-green forested area. Unlike previous times her pace was slow, barely a crawl compared to before.

Finny hovered staring at the partner the Master had chosen for her before circling in a wisp of fiery blaze. "We are doomed, DOOOOOOOOOMED!" Finny grumbled to herself, out of Sifu's hearing as she sped into one of the boy's _meridians_ heading out to the world outside. If she was at her previous level of power staying outside his body would be a snap, but now it had to be done in short bursts. Not even Sifu would dare to remain outside the child's body, without extensive reserves of _ki_ on hand.

Without warning the pain vanished, and Tim gasped in a shuddered awakening, as pleasure replaced the pain. It felt incredible, as if his very blood, bones, and flesh were celebrating the _Silverthread_.

Tim's eyes rolled back into his head as he started to drool involuntarily, his mind no longer able to focus on _anything_.

Doctor Deeplung stared at his monitor in confusion as the pain receptors in Tim's brain that had been blazing brightly suddenly went dark. Instead, the pleasure receptors lit up like a Christmas tree, flaring in doubled might.

Deeplung had one moment of coherent thought, _Ohgodohgod, she's going to kill me!_

(((****)))

" **HE'S WHAT?!** " Melissa said, jolted awake from her sleep by a call from Deeplung in his lab.

"Wait, are you saying h-he's…orga-" Charles tried to understand, before being interrupted by his wife, "Shut it off then, or stop it, or so help me god I will _dismember_ you Deeplung. He's too young to experience-"

"-it's not harming him, I mean it's a natural reaction, I mean it won't, w-won't h-hurt him, Mrs. Rawk-" Deeplung tried to explain before being cut off.

"Deeplung, can the process be halted at this stage without harming my son?" Charles said, holding a hand forcibly over his wife's mouth. Wincing as she bit him, he ignored the pain, "Or would stopping now _hurt him further_?" Charles felt his wife freeze before her body shuddered. Hugging her close he whispered, "We have to trust that _She_ won't allow harm to befall him, in fact this might be a result of her attempting to stop the pain…"

Tears formed at Melissa's eyes before she gave a shuddering gasp and pushed his hands away. "Deeplung, if my son is hurt in some way, physical or psychological as a result of this, I will make your life a living _hell_. It took everything I had to prepare myself knowing he would be facing pain stronger than the Torture Curse. Now you tell me it's twisted in reverse, and he's experiencing pleasure on a massive scale. You're a Doctor, you know that pleasure is a million times more addictive than pain except to a miniscule percentage of the population. If my son suffers some sort of perverse addiction as a result of this, the Sprites will make your death last a lifetime." Melissa said in a dead emotionless tone. Once she'd said her piece, Melissa took her wand, pointed it to her head, and said, " _Noctus Somnum._ " before collapsing out cold.

"Deeplung, my wife has...handled…the pressure you've just placed her under in her own unique method. Now, update me. How bad is it?" Charles said, rubbing his face with one hand.

"There's no way to be sure what his brain will do with such a massive overload of ecstasy." Deeplung said, his voice fearful.

" **Guess, NOW.** " Charles said, his face hardening.

"M-most likely m-magic will b-be, _extremely_ pleasant to h-him." Deeplung said, starting to stutter even more.

 _In essence he'll become addicted to using spells, but instead of pure joy, it will be his mind interpreting the magical energy as a source of pleasure._ Charles thought, his mind working lightning fast. _Perhaps we can stop it before it becomes untenable._

" **Deeplung listen very, very carefully, as your life depends on this. You must, absolutely, without fail, put a limiter on my son. I don't care how you do it, I don't care what it costs. Make it happen goblin, or what my wife will do to you will seem like paradise.** " Charles said, his eyes turning into deep blue pits of darkness in the bedroom.

"Hiiiii! I-I understand!" Deeplung said, cutting the connection.

"I hope the damn genius can make it in time." Charles said, before duplicating the action of his wife.

(((****)))

Deeplung had reached deep into his core, moving from a thinking goblin, into an entranced mad scientist. He was driven now, driven to survive. The powers the Rawkfawlers could call upon would do more than merely kill him, they would make his life a living hell.

It was at this moment of utter desperation that the spark of genius that had fueled his path towards becoming the greatest goblin Doctor ignited.

 _I can't create a blockage that will only end up destroying Tim's mind. He's young, flexible, malleable…a CHANNEL that, that way lies survival!_ Deeplung thought, his mind moving with lightning speed.

Matching action to thought, Deeplung accessed his Orb, the magical sentient version of a basic computer that he'd upgraded.

" **User is attempting to initiate an action that will result in decrease of lifespan, continue?** " the sparkling orb questioned in a monotone robotic voice.

Deeplung took a deep breath, _A decade now, or a lifetime later…_

"Authorize, code Pavelo-91245-Lock-3985-Permanent."

" **Acknowledged. Initiating…** "

Deeplung prayed to the Stone that all goblins held sacred he was in time…


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling._

 _Some of the subject matter within is taken from other stories, times, places, dimensions, and planes of existence._

 _Because, the magic never truly ends._

 **Chapter Four: Hell Training (II)**

" **Completion Rate 1%...2%...3%** " the Orb sounded out in a robotic monotone as Doctor Deeplung looked at his patient twitching and shivering in the examination chair. He'd had to gag Tim earlier because the constant moans were distracting. The boy wasn't in pain though, it was much worse than that, he was _enjoying_ the process immensely.

 _If this succeeds though, he might experience extreme growth. Pleasure has always been a much better motivator than pain._ Deeplung thought, trying to distract himself from the horrific fear of failing.

" **Completion Rate 15%...16%...17%** " the Orb sounded out in a robotic monotone. Deeplung waited patiently for the countdown to hit fifty-percent. That would be the point of no return.

The goblin reached to the side of his lab counter and grabbed a Potion, one of a set, which he'd crafted with utmost care. It could be said to be work that superseded his greatest, the _Silverthread_ , which now held his patient Tim in its thrall. If the spark of mad science that had ignited in his desperation held true, it would be possible to prevent the worst, perhaps even improve from the ashes instead.

 _At fifty percent, Solution #1, seventy-five percent Solution #2, ninety percent Solution #3, and finally at 100% I'll use the last Solution #4. It will cost me two and a half years of my life for each of these Potions. A decade is a small price to pay, though. Please by the Stone, don't let the side effects be unbearable._ Deeplung thought, his mind flashing back to the threats both Rawkfawler parents had levied against him. _Any side effect is better than a living hell, if even half of what they claimed was possible, I would be better off committing suicide if this fails. Just my luck though they probably have some way of torturing a spirit though. Suck it up, Greatest Goblin Doctor, EVER! This isn't the first medical crisis we'll ever deal with!_ Deeplung psyched himself up for the upcoming process, as a result he almost missed the first mark.

" **Completion Rate 50%...** " the Orb said, and without delay the goblin Doctor drank the first Potion. He managed to slip it back into the Potion holder, just in time.

Deeplung gasped aloud a raw sound of pain as the Potion took effect, his body now exhibiting intense aging. Like a still motion photograph sped up to be viewed, for every second that passed, he now burned entire chunks of time. Deeplung rapidly aged, his peach color skin fading to a sickening tan-green color. A wave of dizziness overtook the goblin with an overwhelming feeling of nausea accompanying it.

"Activate emergency medical support." Deeplung managed to squeeze out whimpering. He swayed on his feet, collapsing into a wheelchair that _grew_ out of the floor just in time. Coughing violently, the goblin spewed a thick glob of blood onto the lab's floor. His heart pounded in an offbeat rhythm like a demon's drum.

"Three…left…" Deeplung choked out, trying to keep himself motivated.

" **Completion Rate 75%...** " the Orb said, without delay the goblin Doctor drank the second Potion. The effects were even more pronounced now, his skin taking on a hideous green color with a faint glow. He couldn't remember how he managed to put the empty vial back in the holder, but he did it somehow. Deeplung was too far gone after the pain hit to register anything except the Orb continuing to count down. Words were no longer possible as he forcibly kept a death grip on his consciousness.

 _Two…left._ Deeplung thought before becoming even more focused, it was all down to timing now. He couldn't fail. _Failure means death, no, worse than death, life in pain._ Deeplung had a phobia about pain, it was all he could do to keep his hands steady.

" **Completion Rate 90%...** " the Orb said, without delay the goblin Doctor drank the third Potion. Finally the cumulative effects of the Potions were too much. Despair ripped through Deeplung as the empty glass tube slipped from suddenly numb fingers, shattering on the lab's floor. The goblin fought to stay awake, but his body had been pushed to the limit both physically and mentally. A seizure hit Deeplung, and it was at that moment that Deeplung lost consciousness, unable to hold, and complete the last task.

" **Completion Rate 100%...** " the Orb said, accompanied with a ding sound.

At this moment of absolute disaster, without any others watching, two house Sprites moved swiftly dropping their Invisibility. They lifted the last and final Potion between them, red and blue pixy wings blurring in effortless speed. Together, they forced it down the goblin's partially open throat before watching as he twitched and shuddered in absolute agony. Horrific snapping and cracking noises resounded from Deeplung, along with tortured gasps. The crunch and crack of bone resounded as the goblins own muscles snapped his skeleton.

Two merciless sets of slanted phoenix eyes watched the goblin without care. They saw his skin turn a permanent unhealthy sickening electric green, and glow with awful unholy light. Neither of the Sprites moved to assist him, in their eyes the goblin was worth less than dust.

Turning away from the goblin both of them focused on the small boy, Tim, before the red winged one asked, _**"Will this really save the Sorcerer?"**_

" _ **The Princess said it will, she consulted with the Spirit King!"**_ the blue winged pixy said with a grand gesture.

" _ **Filthy goblin. If it wasn't for the Grey Lord showing him favor, he would lie beneath the Shaded Trees, bleeding the death of a million poisoned cuts."**_ the red winged one said, her high cute musical toned voice somehow managing to convey disdain.

" _ **We can't do such things though, the Oath prevents us."**_ the blue winged one said, a sadness at contrast with her upbeat tone apparent.

" _ **For now."**_ the red winged one said, darkly.

Both of the female Sprites stared venomously at Deeplung slumped in his wheelchair, drooling. Luckily he was completely out of commission, otherwise the killing intent that flared from the two beautiful pixies would have been enough to end him.

" _ **One day he won't be needed anymore."**_ the blue winged one said, with hatred.

" _ **His kind are like the Infinity Insect, they always find a way to survive."**_ the red winged one said, depressed.

" _ **Nothing can hide from the People of the Air!"**_ the blue winged one announced with a twirl.

" _ **True."**_ the red winged one said, nodding.

" _ **Let's check on our Sorcerer, and see if he's ok?"**_ the blue winged one said, nervous.

" _ **He's breathing steady now, and smiling! That is good?"**_ the red winged one said, curiously.

" _ **What about the Infection?"**_ the blue winged one said, noticing the _Silverthread_ spreading.

" _ **It's spread almost completely."**_ the red winged one announced a few minutes later.

" _ **Yay! Exactly as foretold."**_ the blue winged one said, with joy.

" _ **The goblin was useful."**_ the red winged one said, sounding shocked.

" _ **The goblin was of service, this time."**_ the blue winged one said, with a depressed sigh.

" _ **Filthy goblin."**_ the red winged one spat.

" _ **Rubbish goblin."**_ the blue winged concurred.

Like most female house Sprites, the two young girls were gorgeous miniature specimens of their kind. Both of them had entrancing pixy wings that fluttered so fast they seemed to be standing still. In essence, it appeared the wings were barely vibrating, while hovering in the air. With incredible expectation apparent on their faces the pixy girls floated in place as they watched Tim's slowly eyes flutter open.

" _ **All hail!"**_ the red winged one said, with an imperious tone.

" _ **All hail!"**_ the blue winged one said, with a solemn tone.

" _ **The once and future, Sorcerer!"**_ Both of the young female Sprites said in unison, their voices blending into a delightful sound. They cheered as the wonderful music of their voices appeared to wake Tim up. 

As they both watched Tim focused on them for a brief moment of lucidity before his eyes rolled back into his head and he gave a soft sigh as he slid unconscious. If it weren't for the restraining straps that held him in place, Tim would likely have fallen limply out of the examination chair.

" _ **Do you think he heard us?"**_ the red winged one said, concern evident in her voice.

" _ **Probably?"**_ the blue winged one said, appearing slightly unsure.

" _ **Oh well, let's get him to the healing place."**_ the red winged one said, with a shrug.

" _ **These ropes things are holding him, though?**_ " the blue winged one said, glancing at her partner in crime.

" _ **Swords out!"**_ the red winged one said, the thrill of adrenaline adding sharpness to her voice. Tiny swords dripping with a strange liquid were whipped out by both pixies. Approaching one side each, they prepared to free Tim.

" _ **For the Sorcerer!"**_ The twin sound of rapid slashes was heard as all the restraints holding Tim in the chair were cut in a flash. When a Sprite moved, unless a person had inhuman reflexes it was almost impossible to perceive them.

" _ **One, two, three…UP!"**_ both of the Sprites chanted in unison.

Tim's body lifted gently as the inhuman strength the pixy Sprites possessed allowed them to raise him. Although both of the tiny girls looked frail and weak they were one of the most feared races known to the magical world. Even dragons would give a Sprite Nest a wide berth.

(((****)))

Tim woke in a soft bed to the steady sound of electronic beeping.

 _A hospital room? Did I have an accident? That shouldn't be though, I swore not to mix my own nitro glycerin again._ Tim paused doing the diagnostic scan Doctor Deeplung taught him. His eyes bugged out in alarm.

"Calm down, son. It's all under control. Don't be afraid." Tim's dad said, his soothing voice calming the fear his face showed. "There was a small accident with the Silverthread, nothing terrible though. _She_ intervened to help out, and unexpectedly added to the calamity, baby." Tim's mom said, her voice soothing the last of the worries.

"Tell me, what do you see now when you look, Tim?" his dad asked. It was obvious both parents were curious why he kept waving his hand in front of his face.

"Thread, my body is made of thread now." Tim babbled, watching with delight through his _magesight_ at his hands held in front of him. Hands, arms, chest, everywhere he looked the _Silverthread_ formed millions of strands. That wasn't the most shocking part though, now his entire body, not just his veins glowed _platinum_.

Unable to resist Tim _reached_ for the magical energy, before gasping with low moan.

 _So much! Everywhere, flooding in, must…I…have to…_ Tim tried to stop the flow, but failed. The energy was flooding into his body and it felt so _good_ so _right_ he couldn't stop it.

Suddenly thousands upon thousands of glowing symbols condensed over his body shining like liquid gold. It was as if an ancient Chinese calligrapher had written all over his body creating a human-shaped mass of symbols.

Tim relaxed limply as the incredibly pleasant sensation of drawing in magical energy faded away.

"I succeeded."

Tim turned towards the voice that resembled an exhausted old smoker. In the corner of his room, on a wheelchair that seemed more _grown_ than manufactured, sat Doctor Deeplung. The goblins voice now matched to a decrepit and aged body, like time had thrown him into a grinder, and then pulled him out a decade of hard use later.

"Doctor?" Tim said, aghast.

"Desperate measures, boy, desperate measures. Deeplung's skin was now a glowing green with yellow veins threaded throughout. He emitted an unhealthy glow that contrasted sharply with the sunlight from the window outside.

 _Something went…wrong._ Tim thought, only now coming to grips with things. _I must show that I am not a mindless creature. Time to put all my lessons to use._

"What happened?" Tim asked, his young voice calm, his face expressionless. He looked at both his parents sitting at the bedside, knowing they would crack first. Within moments his mother started fidgeting, and his dad's eyes couldn't stay in one place. Both of them seemed to want to look anywhere except at their son.

Narrowing his eyes, Tim looked at the goblin. "Explain, what happened Doctor."

Deeplung sat straight in his wheelchair, apparently honored that the Tim would trust him to speak truth.

"The _Silverthread_ causes pain, I explained before the procedure started, yes?" Deeplung said.

"I remember that, Doctor, what happened? I-I don't remember pain at all after a short while." Tim said, a slow blush creeping up his face.

"Sifu, _She_ , apparently attempted to assist in the assimilation. Whatever she did, you no longer felt pain. Instead, you felt-" Deeplung was interrupted by Tim, "I felt fantastic! It felt divine! Just a moment ago, when I reached for magical energy…." Everyone watched Tim's face flash through several emotions before he said with a monotone, "Am I broken, can I no longer use magic?" His mind had rapidly sorted the possibilities, and despair was evident.

"Oh, no no, no it's not like that at all baby!" Tim's mom said, her voice sobbing as she reached over to hug him close.

"Doctor Deeplung concocted a desperate solution at the last second to counteract the disaster. It was a complex bit of mad magical engineering, done on the fly, with no prior testing. It seems the Doctor is able to pull out a spark of greatness under incredible pressure." his dad said, eyes glittering coldly at the Doctor before he reached into his inner suit pocket.

Tim didn't miss the flash of fear that passed across Deeplung's face.

"Calm down goblin, I am not an unjust employer. Take this, and know that the Patriarch of Rawkfawler considers you in his debt." his father said, revealing a small vial of blood red elixir sitting on his palm.

"Elixir of Life!" Deeplung exclaimed, astonished.

"Even if it was out of desperation, you created a masterpiece. Knowingly drinking an untried set of Potions, which you theorized would shave years off your lifespan to save my son. I am not so petty as to allow such a valuable asset to decay when I can prevent it. Drink this, and know that I consider this debt paid _in full_." his father said, before floating the vial of Elixir to the goblin.

Tim watched as Deeplung struggled to maintain his calm, without success, finally the goblin ripped off the vial's cork. Gulping it all down in one go, Deeplung sat back in his chair with a multi-toothed grin on his face. Tim saw his skin start to shine as if it was a freshly oiled and buffed floor. Years faded from the goblin, like time working in reverse.

"You're like me!" Tim exclaimed in joy.

"I'm a kid!" Deeplung exclaimed in disgust.

"You didn't think we were going to send our only son into Hogwarts without any backup, especially with his Potion skills, did you?" Melissa Rawkfawler said, with an impish smile from where she was hugging Tim.

"You planned this!" Deeplung pointed one accusing finger at both of Tim's parents.

 _He doesn't really seem that unhappy though._ Tim thought, watching Deeplung's face carefully. Behind the angry front, a glimmer of mischievousness could be seen in the goblin's eyes.

"Well not _this_ exactly, I'll admit nobody saw Sifu's interference coming from our end." Charles Rawkfawler said, smirking.

"Hah! I bet if it wasn't something _She_ did, it would have been a tainted healing potion, or something else. You were planning to put me in debt somehow to get me to drink the Elixir, weren't you?" Deeplung said, his hand dropping to the wheelchairs armrest in mock fury.

"Of course." both of Tim's parents said shamelessly.

"I guess it is to be expected. If we released Tim for seven years of making Potions without any help, the Stone knows how much of Hogwarts would remain standing." Deeplung said, covering his face with a hand while grinning.

"I'm not that bad!" Tim said, accusingly.

"No, your worse!" all three people said with a straight face.

"All joking aside…" Tim's father said before Deeplung and his wife chimed in, "It's not a joke!"

"Ahem." Charles coughed, gently.

"Deeplung, let's go take a stroll." Tim's mom said, wheeling him out without giving the goblin a chance to argue.

"I've been watching how your training goes the last few months, and I realized adjustments need to be made." Tim's dad said, before withdrawing a strangely complex and small golden hourglass medallion on a silver chain from his suit pocket.

Tim stared at the strange device, it felt alien to his _magesight_ , as if time had accumulated into an almost visible ripple of energy on it.

"This, Tim, is a very special device. It wouldn't be allowed in Britain to you, even if you show a high enough level of skill. It's a Time-Turner, a device that allows one to travel backwards in time." Tim's dad said, dropping a world-shattering bomb with cool aplomb.

"Dad, that would violate the laws of both magic and No-Maj science in so many ways I can't even think of them all right now." Tim said staring intently at the device. His _sonar_ spell informed him it was quite small, for such a devastating piece of equipment.

"Oh, it has limitations, indeed quite a few. I expect though, that as my son they won't bind too heavily though." Tim's dad said, with a devious grin.

"This explains a great deal. I was beginning to question how you always seemed to know the right investments to choose, the right companies to pick, the right people to promote. Being able to step back and re-write things in the favor of Rawkfawler House is a great edge." Tim said, as his mind considered all the ramifications.

"What most people don't understand is Time-Turners are not actually a device designed for what they are used to do, son. They were made for a much different purpose."

Tim threw a questioning gaze at his father with his sightless eyes, asking for more.

"Unlike the mass produced models in many parts of the world used for such mundane purposes as studying harder, or fixing minor issues, our Time-Turner is different. It is a _true_ Time-Turner, a weapon designed to kill creatures which we have no names for anymore. If the old family records are to be believed, gods and demons, and other creatures of terrible might fell to wizardly cleverness. Who knows? What matters now is the use you put it to, son." Charles said, handing the device over to his son.

"So, this is how I will compress years of training in separate paths of learning. Deeplung for medical and science, Sergeant Cliff for M.M.A. and mental fortitude, Master Cho for magical combat and Charms. It all makes a great deal more sense now." Tim said, nodding as the possibilities became more apparent.

Charles pulled a small slip of paper out of thin air and handed it to his son, "These are the basic rules of using a Time-Turner. Pay attention to them, and be careful. I only have one son, and it would devastate your mother and me to lose him."

Tim nodded, then leaned back into the partially upright hospital bed. "I'm a bit tired now."

"Sleep well then, we'll see you later when you're rested up." Tim's dad said, before exiting the room.

Once everyone was out Tim quickly read the Time-Turner rules and then turned the device upside down.

Several hours reversed themselves around him and he was laying once more in an empty room, on the same hospital bed. The only difference now was the sheets were completely unused, and the bed was made as if awaiting a patient.

Tim struggled to get up, but before he could do anything a piece of paper appeared on the chair his mother had used to sit.

Tim froze, the piece of paper hadn't been there when he glanced at the room at first.

Reaching to pick up the note, Tim read it.

 _Do not play with Time for fun, Tim. It has no sense of humor, and_ _ **things**_ _will find you._ - _ **Sifu**_

Tim stared at the note for a full minute before he got back on the bed. Burning the note to dust, he spun the Time-Turner in reverse to return. Once again back in his own time, he placed the Time-Turner around his neck, hiding the main piece under his hospital clothing. Nodding to himself, he snuggled under the covers, and then calmly dropped off to sleep.

Far outside his son's room, Charles Rawkfawler had gathered everyone once again at the Library. His wife was located in her normal wing-backed throne chair, while he stood behind his own. Deeplung was in his wheelchair, gadgets already starting to adorn it like a steampunk contraption. Sergeant Cliff was visible laying down nearby on his stomach, the ghillie suit covering him almost able to mimic the wooden floor. Master Cho sat in his own slightly less impressive wing backed throne chair, a small table nearby set with steaming tea.

"There were setbacks with my son and his recent medical treatment. As such, we are altering the training method. He will be training simultaneously with all of his teachers in two months, before that we are sending him to Ilvermorny. Specifically to a summer camp to get a bit of social interaction done. Fantastic teachers as each of you is, Tim needs to learn lessons that only those of his age can teach." Charles said, hands clasped on the upper part of his chair as he spoke.

"That would be impossible unless…" Master Cho seemed to realize something and went silent.

"Exactly." Charles said.

"This month is still mine, for fishing. The boy is wound tight enough as is, if he doesn't relax and stabilize there will not be anything left to train." Sergeant Cliff spoke up from his position on the mahogany and teak wooden floor.

Charles glanced at his wife a silent question in his eyes, at her barely perceptible nod he said, "Agreed. I will make arrangements with the school to delay their summer camp in exchange for some paltry funding."

Master Cho took a sip of tea before placing the cup and saucer back on the small table near his chair. "I have recently found two Aurors lurking around the property, I'm not sure exactly what they are doing, should I dispose of them?"

Charles sighed in annoyance, "Those are probably new men at the Department, if they are even real agents. They likely haven't received proper training on our House. If they appear threatening respond with lethal force. If they try to pull any crap about Trace readings around here, or underage wizardry, cripple them to send a message to whoever sent them. True agents of the Department would not be lurking around here, as the general House area is marked. As you both know by now, our House has a Sprite Nest in it, and is classified as a level ten threat. That's before the Beholders in the basement, the Hidebehind in the Outer Forest, or the Pukwudgkie clan lurking outside the Wards are accounted for. Having lots of money serves a purpose for these situations." he said, flicking a hand dismissively.

"If they aren't careful the mines around the property will solve the problem for us." Sergeant Cliff said, his voice disparaging about foolish Aurors. As a wizard mercenary he was well aware of the stupidity of charging into an unknown situation.

"Alright, second order of business. I've received an entreaty from Lord Potter, he enquired if I would be interested in joining towards the mutual end of limiting Chinese influence. Yes, I thought you'd find that amusing." Charles said, taking note of Master Cho's expression.

Master Cho pondered as one of his hands stroked his newly grown beard that he had started weaving charmed talismans into, "Does he understand such action would limit business and lower profit? If he does he is an idiot for proposing it, and if he doesn't, an idiot for not bothering to do research."

"The influence the Potter family wields in the 'British' magical world is immense, but that same influence blinds them to the international scene. They seem to believe across the ocean that no one else would have stepped in to eliminate Voldemort. Some even go so far as to say no one outside of Britain could have had a chance except for Harry. Even with Professor Henrica Hobson setting the standard for Hogwarts, they still are sorely lacking in History." Charles said, shaking his head sadly.

Deeplung tapped a few times on a tablet display attached to an armrest on his wheelchair before saying, "Ah, like the Gormlaith Incident? I see, unlike the British, America doesn't take prisoners."

Charles gripped the back of his chair until the knuckles went white, "If by that you mean we choose not to torment our killers in a magical prison next to soul-sucking demons with who-knows-what motives, then yes, you are right Deeplung. When those of the Dark come to murder us in our beds, American wizards choose to create fertilizer from them. We see no reason to keep alive those that could escape and do even greater harm a second time around. That reasoning is why I didn't countermand the kill order at the Bloody Ball."

Master Cho's eyes flashed with a dangerous light, "Azkaban has always been a source of discontent among the international community. The Emperor has long questioned why such a supposedly 'enlightened' wizard kingdom such as Britain would keep those _things_ around. The creatures are a blight upon this world, and should be exterminated." Cho was visibly upset.

Melissa shrugged with distaste, "I suppose after Lord Potter incinerated a few with the Sword, they figured its fine to keep killable jailers around. Funny how they ignore the fact that before that, the creatures were barely manageable. During the first part of the war with Voldemort they even defected to his side. Pure idiocy in my opinion to keep them around."

Sergeant Cliff rolled into a sitting position on the floor before taking out a small block of wood to begin carving, "Perhaps they believe the rumor about the Dementor's being Cursed and not truly at fault for their actions."

"Ah, I remember that was a famous excuse over there. The, it-wasn't-me-I-was-Controlling-Cursed, right? As if." said Deeplung, barely looking up from his tablet's screen. "I see no difference between a Dark Wizard torturing people for power, and a Dementor torturing 'bad' wizards in a prison. That's just me and my rational medical goblin mind though, I suppose."

The assembled people shared a grin at Deeplung's sarcastic tone, before Charles said, "The I.C.W. (International Confederation of Wizards) is in the process of choosing a new Supreme Mugwump. The long slow poisoning of Albus Dumbledore who was imprisoned in Azkaban resulted in quite a lot of in-faction fighting. I have it on good intelligence it was the newspapers he liked to lick and paste on his prison walls that did him in." A brief sad smile passed across Charles's face.

"Wait…wasn't that paper subscription, to the _Daily Prophet_ paid for by…" Master Cho said, his left eyebrow rising in amazement.

"Exactly." Charles said, with a smirk.

"It's not likely that Lord Potter will ever face charges for the murder of a previous Headmaster of Hogwarts though. There is no way the Wizengamot would turn on one of their own, especially an Order of Merlin First Class holder, without severe pressure." Sergeant Cliff said, the block under his wood whittling slowly taking shape.

Charles stepped around and finally sat down in his chair, "All too true. Although they may not condemn him out in the open, Mr. Dumbledore had a large following in the I.C.W. As a result, Lord Potter might be facing sanctions of one form or another soon." Conjuring a table with food appearing from the house Sprites, Charles started to eat a light dinner. "At that point, my husband and I, will offer our assistance to the Potter family." Melissa said, her voice a pleasant enchanting dulcet tone.

"That way, Rawkfawler is positioned to appear in support no matter who comes out on top of the mess. Clever." Master Cho said, with a grin.

"We are enemies only to those who believe us to be such, and allies to all who accept us as such." Charles Rawkfawler stated one of the House mottos calmly, while continuing to eat.

"All this training, what exactly do you have planned for your boy?" Sergeant Cliff said, finishing his woodcarving. Placing a small figure of a boy with a blindfold in a _Shen-To-Pai_ stance, he moved over to grab a plate. Piling his plate high with a variety of food that appeared on the table in front of the Rawkfawlers he retreated back to the floor.

"I too am curious to know." Master Cho said, summoning a pre-arranged plate of food to his tea table.

"Same." Deeplung said without looking up from his wheelchair. A tray grew and extended out from the opposite armrest of the tablet, while mechanical arms stretched and arranged a food plate. Once done, the arms pulled the plate of food back putting it on the tray before Deeplung, so he could devour it.

"I'm sure most of you are aware of the Tri-Wizard Tournament?" Charles said, his eyebrow raised in a question.

Grunts, nodes, and hand motions from Tim's teachers met Charles, all of them in the affirmative.

"Since the event also marks the defeat of Lord Voldemort it has become a rather immense commercial juggernaut in its own right. Even to the point that our Morganstein Company needed to add it to the Foreign Assets division." Charles said, as his finished plate was removed and replaced by Sprites. Cutting a small piece of rare bloody steak before forking a fried potato onto the end of it he continued, "The Evolving Dungeon, The Tower of Infinity, The Dark Forest, Lifeworld, Riverland, Mt. Tai, all these and more are now used in the Tri-Wizard tournament. Either as training grounds, or actual parts of the tournament itself. Gone are the paltry days of the past where a single wizard could own every event. Since the defeat of Lord Voldemort, Challenges are ever more complex and difficult. Players are ranked both as Teams and Individuals, to the point where some contend they have a greater effect on a person's future than O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s, I tend to agree."

Tim's mom continued as her husband focused on eating, "My baby will be required to fight a series of Challenges to take his place as Patriarch on his eighteenth birthday. However, there is a precedent in place to prevent such an occurrence. It was actually established by the cadet Branches of Rawkfawler House. A blatant, and so far futile attempt, to usurp the Main Branch of the House. It seems only fitting the precedent is used to keep my baby where he belongs."

Deeplung looked up from his food and said, "Your talking about running the Tournament aren't you? That's never been done since Harry Potter pulled it off. Almost everyone believes even if Lord Potter were to face the Challenges they have today, he couldn't do the same thing as before."

Sergeant Cliff frowned, "That's what will allow Tim to avoid issues and take control as Patriarch? Not to disparage the boy, but that's a steep level of difficulty to hit." Scooping more food off his plate with a spoon and shoveling it in his mouth, Sergeant Cliff said, "I think it would be easier to just assassinate the other Candidates for Patriarch."

Charles flashed a small smile before saying, "Unfortunately killing members of our own House that are not cast out by unanimous decision for Treason or something else, is, in a nutshell, not possible. The bloodline has several spells on it to prevent such things from occurring, except during the Challenges."

Melissa nodded at the three teachers, "In essence, the Challenges are my baby's chance to kill all his competitors. During that time, the bloodline curses will not activate on those eighteen years old and below. He will be able to both attack, and defend himself, without repercussions."

Melissa was spreading crackers with a delightful combination of cheese and sauce before she said, "If there is nothing else pressing, we are done for now. Please check in with my baby late in the evening tomorrow as the morning is reserved for rest, and the midafternoon for us." she said, gesturing with a sauce laden knife to Charles and herself.

(((****)))

After waking up late in the morning, Tim had settled down to enter his Wal using his divine sense. Once inside he was mystified at the enormous silver-green forest. Moving forward he managed to make it until he was directly under the glowing Book.

Tim called out, "Sifu! Sifu! Are you there?" multiple times, but there was no response.

After examining some of the strange plants in the forest, Tim shrugged and allowed his divine sense to exit.

As the hospital room, beeping machine, and IV pole came back into focus Tim's eyes were drawn to another sheet of mysterious paper. Set on his dad's chair was note with further instructions on how to practice, along with a small ring.

 _Congratulations on upgrading your body!_

 _As a result of your constant exercises, it is time to step into the next level._

 _Now you will put those amazing energy-number skills that have been practiced to use._

 _Included on this paper are several 'Sigils' to practice, once you master the basics of these, we can move to the next level._

 _Good luck!_

 _P. S. As a reward for the work done so far, the ring is a little something from me._

 _ **-Sifu**_

Tim sent his divine sense into the ring, trying to understand what it might be useful for.

A soft chinking noise resounded, suddenly the ring in Tim's hand felt as familiar as his own body. Information gently imprinted itself into his mind, courtesy of a residual shadow left by Sifu.

 _So, this ring increases the speed of drawing energy, and at the same time purifies it for easier use. Now that it is soul-bound to me, it would be useless to others._ Tim thought, amazed at the gift. _Perhaps to Sifu, something like this is a mere trinket. It clearly shows the difference between a Prime Sorcerer, and a True Sorcerer. One is just learning the chasm between the other, the other is staring down from a mountain at the ants below._

Tim shrugged and placed the plain silver ring on his middle finger, after a moment, it sized down to fit him perfectly. Sniffing at the faint smell of burned ozone in the air, Tim brought the note up to his face. Concentrating, he started attempting to form the first 'Sigil' that seemed easiest to create.

Almost two hours later, Tim gasped in sweat soaked agony. He had just barely by the thinnest of margins managed to form the easiest 'Sigil' after focusing without rest. Slumping back in the bed, he sent his divine sense into the symbol floating at eye level above him.

 _I am humanity's oldest enemy against the dark. Know me, and call upon me at will._

 _I am light, and make all things bright,_

 _I was there when the world was new, alight when the stars were young._

 _My name is sung, my song is heard, of those called to battle me, none return._

 _I am…_

 _ **The Flame.**_

With a snapping crackle the symbol burst into a small raging flame of blue, then vanished.

Tim reached out a wondering hand, then dropped it back to the bed mere seconds before the door to his hospital room opened.

"How are you doing son?" Tim's dad asked, as he and mom seated themselves by the bedside.

His mother seemed to sense something was amiss, "Get the doctor, now!" she said, placing a hand against his forehead. For some reason, Tim felt extremely hot.

 _Blue flame, isn't that hotter than red?_ Tim thought, dizzy.

"He's burning up!" She reacted instantly, Tim could see the magic leap to her command in his _magesight_. His mom rarely used magic seriously since her days as a professional mercenary, but she obviously hadn't allowed her skills to rust.

" **In this, my domain, under my House, I invoke the cold!** _ **Glacius!**_ " his mom said, gently allowing the chill to penetrate his body. The longer invocation of the spell gave her absolute authority over it. Especially since it was done within the confines of Rawkfawler House.

Tim let out a relieved smile as the cold spell took effect, he could feel it lowering his body temperature. A side effect of invoking The Flame's 'Sigil' had been a massive burst of heat. Combined with his already weakened body, he'd clearly suffered heatstroke.

 _I am, an idiot._ Tim thought, as the chill focused his thoughts.

His dad rushed back in with a doctor and nurse, in a second the doctor took one look at his condition, then immediately understood.

"Heatstroke, he's lost a massive amount of fluids. He's going into dehydrated shock. Melissa, pull liquid from the air, purify, and feed directly to him through the skin! Hurry!" the doctor said, in a no-nonsense order.

" **Under the authority of Matriarch, gather to my need. Supply my son with the lifegiving substance,** _ **Aguamenti!**_ " Tim's mother said, invoking another spell without pause. Sweat started to bead on her forehead from the effort of multiple uses of her authority. While within Rawkfawler House, the Patriarch or Matriarch were able to completely control any and all forms of magic. In short, within their House and the realm around it, they were the equivalent of demi-gods. However, it wasn't without drawbacks, one example was the Challenges from the branch families. Even though Tim didn't know what other drawbacks there were exactly, his lessons with dad had shown there was no power without a price. Only through winning a successful Challenge could the branch families avoid paying such a price. It was one of the reasons he would face the Challenges in a decade or so, the branch families strongly desired not to pay whatever it was.

A cloud of mist formed, then rapidly solidified to liquid, within seconds tiny streams of water burrowed into his body's pores. At first there were ten, then twenty, then hundreds. The sudden sensation of thirst vanished, and Tim felt his body relax.

"Thank you doctor, nurse." his dad said, before ushering them both out after the nurse hung a new IV bag with better liquids.

After returning, both his parents sat down. Mom was taking long pulls from a large gourd, and his father was looking a little angry.

"Would you like to explain why, when instead of resting and recovering, you were practicing magic?" his dad said, obviously trying to keep his voice calm.

"I'm sorry, it was a mistake. Sifu gave me a treat and another set of exercises. I started trying the easiest one out and lost track of time." Tim said, trying to look innocent.

While his dad didn't seem to be buying it, his mom said, "Its ok baby, but no more until your back up to full strength ok?" With his mom giving her tacit blessing to the accident, his dad threw up his hands in the air before saying, "Fine. Don't do it again, ok?" before taking out a handkerchief and wiping the sweat off his head.

"I'll send the nurse back in to help you clean up, with a shower. Remember, no more magic until you get well!" his dad said, shaking a finger at Tim.

Tim's mom pushed her husband's arm down before saying, "We are going to be sending you to an Ilvermorny summer camp for a few months before you start training again. Try to make some friends that aren't trying to kill you please, ok baby?" she gave a short glare to his dad, before saying, "Preferably nice people instead of backstabbing suck-ups too. It's a mixed gender camp, so you might see your friend Jennifer there."

"M-my, what? I mean…of course, yes my friend, Jennifer." Tim said, taking the hint from his dad's body language.

 _Mom has obviously received a different version of the story than what I remember._ Tim thought, without changing expression. _A camp without Sprites, teachers, or fish. Ugh, un-fun level is over 9000 already._ He was careful not to let his thoughts leak out onto his face though, mom seemed to think this camp was the next best thing to shopping.

Reaching into his suit, Tim's dad withdrew a cutting edge pair of glasses. The eyepieces were completely black, a subtle indication the wearer was blind. "Wear these at camp, they are less eye catching than your seer's headband. There are a few useful charms on them as well. I copied the _sonar_ spell, as well as _zoom, analyze,_ and _dynamic vision_. It was a snap of the fingers for your awesome dad." Charles said, buffing the nails of the hand not holding Tim's glasses on his coat.

Tim smiled, "Cool!"

After he took the glasses from his father, his dad appeared to be smirking with a raised eyebrow his wife.

"Baby, glasses are all nice, I however made an actual effort unlike _some_ people." Melissa said, pulling a small thin square pad from her purse. "It's the X8253-NIM!" Tim exclaimed, excited.

"Yes, the _prototype_ version, it has added functions compared to the commercial market one." Tim's mother didn't hide her own smirk as her husband's fell.

Rising from their chairs Melissa said, "We'll leave you to play with the new toys. Remember! No magic until Doctor Deeplung says it's ok!" Tim's dad nodded as they exited the room.

Opening the X8253-NIM, Tim was confronted with the logo of one of the world's top computer software companies. Floating in three dimensions using the patented holographic technology from N.A.S.A. the image of an apple was presented.

" **New user recognized, would you like to create a login?** "

"Yes, please." Tim said, watching the image with his _magesight_ and _sonar_. Although he wasn't able to see words on a normal computer screen, the holographic screen from the X8253-NIM was visible. Using state of the art No-Maj science, a thin network of energy in the light spectrum was manipulated to project images. Tim didn't actually 'see' the holographs, he saw the energy that was being used instead.

Five minutes later after a simple authorization process, Tim opened a portal to the Web.

"Search, Wizard Kingdom."

" **This website is requesting authentication.** "

"Rawkfawler House, Heir." Tim said while inputting a complex series of symbols using pure energy. He'd found that controlling energy was easier than attempting to use the keyboard or mouse functions. It wasn't _technically_ magic, so he wasn't breaking any rules.

" **Upload Avatar, Choose Name.** "

"Myself, Blind Bat."

" **Complete. Open battle room?** "

"Open!" Tim commanded, settling back into his partially upright bed. As he relaxed the X8253-NIM performed a partial link with his brainwaves. A large holographic arena opened taking a portion of the hospital room up. Within the arena, a small copy of Tim currently was standing, awaiting a challenger.

Wizard Kingdom as the name implied was a battle arena for wizards and witches of all ages, it was a semi-virtual reality. Invented by a group nicknamed Wizards and Witches of the Co-Ast, it was one of the hottest games currently available to play. The players were given Avatars that copied the original person's abilities, equipment, and so forth. Although he didn't know exactly how the system managed to do it, Sergeant Cliff had been full of praises for it.

 _The most realistic form of combat outside of reality, were Sarge's exact words._ Tim thought.

"This looks awesome!" Tim said, eyes bright. _At least this way I won't waste training time, and it doesn't even use magic. So, I'm not breaking my word!_


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling._

 _Some of the subject matter within is taken from other stories, times, places, dimensions, and planes of existence._

 _Because, the magic never truly ends._

 **Chapter Four: Hell Training (III)**

Max Dineen dropped his books by the door, entered the clean living room that shined with his mother's fanatic touch and leaped into the El-Zee-Boy chair. Leaning back and relaxing, he ignored his sweat soaked clothing from soccer practice. Placing a 'Do Not Disturb' holographic sign over his head, Max checked his mail messages in the house computer system, before opening up the system interface to log in. As one of the top 100 Ranked players in Wizard Kindgom, he was well known for daily training sessions. Achieving the Rank of Thirty-Fourth at his age was an astonishing fact that flew in the face of what people had previously thought possible. Another, even more well known fact, was his willingness to play anyone. From high to low, and everything in between he was one of the few top players to do so. Most of the other Upper Rankers considered him a madman for putting his Rank constantly at risk. They thought only of grinding up the ladder slowly, improving in pieces and bits to rise.

 _Bunch of ignorant piddling pussies. Nobody ever got better without risk, and risk equals reward._ Max thought, as he felt the link to Wizard Kingdom open up. A list of available open Arenas was shown, as well as information on those hosting them. It wasn't their life stories, but just some basic stuff like age, weight, height, experience, and Rank.

Max entered search criteria looking for someone his own age, it was hard to find, when you were known as a child prodigy on the European tournament circuit. The stuffy old men that ran Wizard Kingdom kept trying to recruit him for various projects.

Max shrugged and thought, _Big Sis keeps telling me to make friends my own age, but none of them play WK. It saps my stamina to listen to conversation when I could be in epic combat._

Pausing, he highlighted an open arena that caught his attention. It was hosted by a boy of similar age to him, with a nickname 'Blind Bat'. Max was extremely curious if this person was blind in reality, and if so, how could a blind person could play Wizard Kingdom? Suddenly, a chill went down his back, it was a warning system his body had developed growing up. Whenever a strong opponent that could teach him something new appeared, he got the chills. Refusing to ignore his own personal warning system, Max started equipping his character with the best gear possible.

Gear in Wizard Kingdom consisted of head, neck, shoulders, chest, wrists, hands, belt, legs, and feet. Two trinket slots, ten ring slots, as well as either a two-hand weapon, or main hand with offhand setup were allowed.

Equipment was charmed and saved in Wizard Kingdom's equipment manager. The downside was all equipment had to be something the player had in reality. For example a person couldn't equip themselves with the Crown Jewels of Britain, unless they actually had them on hand. This issue had led to the side effect of Wizard Kingdom players being extremely skilled at Charms, some even advancing to actual Enchanting. As everyone knew, Enchantments were Charms that went above specific effects and could provide immense effects in battle.

Looking at his character dressed in his most lethal garb, Max paused for a second thinking he might be doing overkill on just a new player, a newb. Then he remembered the soul shivering chill he got just before fighting the Rank One in Wizard Kingdom and shrugged. There were very few players that gave him that 'special' feeling, like ice sliding down the back of his spine. It was almost never wrong, and better to be safe than sorry.

 _If it turns out he's a complete newb, I'll compensate him with some assistance gearing up._ Max thought, soothing his conscience before hitting the screen selection to enter the Blind Bat's arena.

The holographic battlefield opened upon which Max's character avatar appeared was bleak. A dusty land of gravel, dirt, and rock formations, it didn't felt desolate. Brown was the color of choice, broken up slightly by large grey boulders here and there.

Max immediately entered _Stealth,_ a Charm that made him blend in with the surroundings, before starting to investigate the wasteland. With the incredible link to a player's brainwaves, the character avatars moved perfectly in sync with thoughts. He was reasonably sure there was actual magic involved, something similar to astral projection. While playing, it was as if the player was actually in the Arena, not sitting safely in their own homes.

 _Big Sis keeps babbling about the wave of the future, I should pay more attention._ Max thought, carefully scanning the battlefield as he moved. So far, he hadn't had any luck spotting his opponent. _This, is getting, exciting!_

Stepping forward Max realized a second too late the ground beneath him wasn't quite solid. To the side of him, a large pile of soil instantly appeared, smelling densely of wet earth. Acting immediately, he used Apparition to move from the ground to one of the taller boulders. Behind and below, on the ground where Max had been, a large pit appeared.

 _Oh! That was tricky, not a direct attack either so I couldn't get any warning from my gear. Sneaky bastard, heh._ Max thought, in glee. Apparating from the top of the boulder to the ground, Max snapped his necklace off, then threw it up in the air above the Arena.

A strong blue light spread out over everything, locking space down.

"Neither of us can Apparate now! My next item will cast Reveal, so no matter where you are hiding, you'll have to come out!" Max said, as a ring on his left hand flashed with orange light. Orange light spread out in circular ripples from him, reaching the four far corners of the Arena.

At first Max had an expectant look on his face, but when there was no reaction from the Reveal spell, he started to get nervous. It was clear to Max that the Blind Bat was here, he'd used a dig spell to create an instant pit. It was equally clear, that his opponent's ability to remain unseen didn't depend on magic at all. There wasn't even the faintest trace of magic detected by the orange light.

Max felt that cold shiver down his back again and whirled to face a young boy behind him in a hospital gown. The hospital gown was weirdly in strips, and had caked mud, dirt, and gravel all over it. A patch on the ground nearby revealed where the boy had been lying flat, it was disturbing how close he'd been, without Max feeling a thing.

Raising his wand, Max said, " _Stupefy_!" trying to get the first strike on his opponent.

Red light erupted from his wand, but halfway to the target it vaporized in a crackle of firework like sparks.

For a moment both people stared at each other before the young boy with completely black glasses said, "Is that all?" The boy started to approach slowly in a martial arts stance that Max was unfamiliar with.

Max looked up at the necklace in the air and immediately regretted his choice to prevent Apparation. _I could remove the spell, but I don't think he'll give me the time to do it._

Thinking fast, Max pointed his wand at the top of a medium-high outcropping of rock, " _Accio Reverso!_ "

Reverse Summoning was a trick that had taken Max six months of hard effort, it caused the object to _attract_ the caster. Although there were limitations, it was a method to move about while under the effects of the Anti-Apparition Ward.

Looking down at his opponent from the top of the rock outcropping Max felt a bit safer, until he saw the boy crouch down in a sprinter's stance facing the rock.

A second later a blur of motion exploded, faster than Max could see clearly, towards the base of his position.

" _Percute Secubaret!_ " his opponent said, striking the base of his rock with a palm.

Max felt a shudder go through the rock outcropping he was on, and a low toned vibration went up through the soles of his boots.

Without warning, the rock outcropping started to disintegrate, as if it had been shattered by a massive hammer.

Max casted Reverse Summoning on a nearby boulder, and managed to bounce off it, before falling a short distance to land feet first on the ground. Turning around, a cloud of dust made it hard to make out his opponent's figure, at the base of the outcropping. Squinting his eyes, Max could barely make out the boy's shadow, with his palm extended. Wind picked up in the arena, quickly blowing the dust away.

"Did you just shatter that with your bare _hand_!?" Max exclaimed aloud in shock.

Turning around, the boy slowly walked out of the quickly clearing dust cloud as if it didn't impair his vision at all. It probably didn't, his nickname being Blind Bat, and all.

"No?" the boy said cocking his head, while adjusting his black glasses. The tattered remnants of his strange cloth mud clothing shuffled around him in in a whispering rasp of sound.

"You clearly did! You broke the rock outcropping, smashed it like a glass bottle against the floor!" Max said, as his body shook in amazement.

Smirking, his opponent shrugged with a 'so what' look while rolling his neck to cracking noises.

Max held up a resolute silver ebony worked wand pointing at the boy, "I haven't even used a tenth of my arsenal, prepare for the worst!"

His opponent ignored him, saying, " _Caliginem!_ " immediately a dark cloud started spreading out from where he stood covering the battlefield in darkness instantly.

" _Finite Incantatem!_ " Max said quickly, dispelling the darkness. As the dark cloud vanished, he whirled around searching for his opponent. He noticed two deep feet impressions where the opponent had previously been standing and put it together in a lightning flash of inspiration.

" _Resilientes!"_ Max said, with a smile as the boy struck directly from above.

A loud shatter-crack occurred followed by a muffled scream of pain.

 _Take that bastard!_ Max thought as he turned around to face his injured opponent. The rebound effect from his spell had caused the boy to shatter his left hand from finger tips to collarbone.

Max raised his silver inlaid wand, it was time to end this game.

(((****)))

Tim was pissed, he choked down the anger that clouded his thoughts. _Anger leads to defeat. Focus, the game isn't over yet. I came in here without anything, to show my talents are enough to triumph. Charms enhance, they contribute to, but do not control, my victory!_

Focusing he ignored the shattered left arm, it was unimportant, what mattered now was _reading_ the opponents spell-weave and _crushing_ the life out of it.

Curses began flying mixed in with jinxes and charms. He dodged, keeping his body from being struck by the barest of margins. The pain of his shattered arm jangled his senses with every dodge.

 _Take this, bastard!_ Tim thought, raised his right, undamaged, hand. He fell back on the first thing he'd learned months ago against Master Cho.

Something the opponent wouldn't expect.

Something he couldn't see coming.

Something that was supposed to be impossible.

Tim reached his thoughts out to the very fabric of the magical energy around him. His _magesight_ showed the world lighting up in layer after layer of pure golden energy in a fraction of a second. Focusing completely, he exercised his power on a large scale for the first time, _ever_.

 _Break!_ Tim's mind commanded, turning thought into action.

There was a moment of deadly silence, where the world itself seemed to freeze motionless, as if time forgot to move. All the curses, jinxes, and charms his opponent had thrown paused in their flight like captured hummingbirds.

Then the world _rippled_ like a stone thrown into a deep pond as Tim's massive Un-Raveling took effect. It moved instantaneously, shattering the spells into nothingness with a high pitched sound like a brick hitting glass. Tim felt so _good_ like a wave of indescribable pleasure started to rise within him.

The wave of energy then moved past the spells, striking directly on the opponent's clothing. There was a momentary pause and then, clothing, wand, everything Charmed or filled with the slightest hint of magical binding disintegrated into dust.

Extreme exhaustion struck Tim, as if he'd been running for one of Sergeant Cliff's extended training sessions. The feeling of pleasure disintegrated like a half-imagined dream crushed under the weight of reality. It was all he could do to stay standing upright, arm extended palm out towards his opponent.

"Uh…draw?" his opponent asked, while covered in bare scraps of disintegrated robes.

"M'kay." Tim struggled to stay conscious, and quickly nodded.

The glowing letters ' **Draw** ' in fluorescent purple lighting flashed between them before the battle arena closed.

Tim settled back against his hospital bed as his mental avatar exited the Wizard Kingdom. He felt pleasantly drained, but not quite exhausted. It appeared the use of magic in the game didn't take the same toll as in the real world.

 _Intense! I caught that boy napping, but, I can't expect miracles every day! I need to get more gear together, and make a kit like Sergeant Cliff showed how to do._ Tim thought, his mind thrilled with deconstructing the Anti-Apparition Ward that he'd seen. The next time he fought Master Cho, a nasty surprise would be waiting for the old man.

Deciding that a short nap was in order, Tim made himself comfortable and dropped off to sleep.

Several hours later, he awoke to the sounds of impressed teachers.

Sergeant Cliff, Master Cho, and Deeplung were all staring at a holographic replay of his battle in miniature projected from the X8253-NIM.

"See, see! That's my ghillie suit technique right there!" Sergeant Cliff pointed in glee.

"Hah! Look at that Severing Curse with _Shen-To-Pai_ added in!" Master Cho said, with pride.

"Neither of you hold a candle to his ability to deconstruct the opponent's magic, clothing, and wand. That's all me of course!" Deeplung said, with arrogance.

"Um…" Tim attempted to interrupt.

"Nothing would have been possible without a sneak attack first!" Sergeant Cliff said, his own ghillie suit waving in agreement as he towered over the other two.

"Without learning to combine magic and martial arts, he would have been defeated in minutes, you troglodyte!" Master Cho said, furious.

"He couldn't have done anything if I hadn't given him a foundation to work with first, you human bastards!" Deeplung said, showing annoyance.

"Um…teachers…" Tim said, weakly. His head was starting to hurt.

" **WHAT?!** " All three of them turned to face Tim. He raised the emergency call button that was flashing on its plain white corded pad, and smirked.

"That's blinking red, is that a bad thing?" Sergeant Cliff managed to say before the cavalry arrived.

The doctor from before who'd told his mother what to do busted open the door followed by two nurses, and three hulking orderlies.

" _Gentlemen…and Goblin._ " The doctor said in a silky voice of extreme anger.

"Y-yes?" the three teachers stammered.

" _ **I'm sure you were not…disturbing…my patient, right?**_ " the doctor said as the orderlies behind him cracked their knuckles. "I'm sure the reduced amount of magic I sense in my patient isn't due to some type of abnormal situation you instigated, _**right?**_ "

Tim took note how all of his teachers seemed rather frightened of the normal seeming doctor. A stray thought flashed through his mind, _I wonder if the person who's in charge of putting me back together could be weak? Knowing mom and dad…yeah, not likely._

"We were just about to leave, weren't we?" Master Cho chose the better part of valor glancing at the other two.

"Of course." Sergeant Cliff and Deeplung said in unison.

"Don't worry, after he's all healed up, we'll have some _special_ training to make up for lost time, right? After his month of fishing is over, of course." Master Cho said, with a vindictive smile the doctor couldn't see as he faced Tim.

Deeplung and Sergeant Cliff turned to give Tim a spine chilling smile. "Of _course._ "

"Wait! We can talk this out! Teachers! Teeeeachers!" Tim said, one hand raised in supplication towards them before the door shut.

The doctor approached Tim whose eyes had turned into despairing pools of dead emotion.

"Now, let's have a look at your progress. I'm Holiday by the way, Doctor Methusala Holiday to be exact. You can call me Doc or Meth for short." the doctor said chuckling, while ignoring the boy's depressed gaze.

A few tendrils of energy scanned Tim's body, visible forms to him, of the doctor's spell to detect anything amiss.

"If I didn't know better I'd say you just did a fair bit of astral projection. Lucky it doesn't strain your actual magic much to do it." Methus said, glancing at the X8253-NIM. "If you were to play something like Wizard Kingdom, be sure to drink plenty of liquids and eat regularly. It won't affect your recovery much unless you take it too far and stay under for several hours. _**Capishe**_?"

Tim nodded, it was clear his doctor wasn't an idiot, he clearly could put the pieces together without aid.

"Alright, let's get you changed and cleaned. You've been in the same clothes for quite a while." Methus said, gesturing to the nurses and orderlies behind him.

An hour later, after the room was clear again, a freshly changed, showered, and fed Tim lay partially upright on his bed. Fingers tapped out a slow rhythm on the bed's sideboard handle while he plotted. Glancing at the X8253-NIM he sent a mental command to start showing the fight. A holographic image, like the one his teachers had been watching, started playing in front of his eyes.

Tim started to dissect the mistakes he saw himself making.

 _I should have attacked from behind immediately. There, when he moved to the top of the rock, I should have already placed a mine waiting. At that point, while the dust was clearing, I should have hidden again. When he was confused and shocked, I could have launched a quick blitz. I left everything up to my arrogance at the end. Lucky the opponent was stupid, and I pulled off that big Unravelling, no it was even bigger, let's call it Disenchanting for now. Without that lucky break this would have been a loss for sure!_ Tim thought, with disgust as he shifted to stare out the nearby window's rapidly darkening skyline. _I keep feeling like spells should be easier, like I'm missing something basic. I need to talk with Sifu, perhaps she knows what's wrong._

With a thought, Tim sent his _divine sense_ deep into his Wal. Once inside, he took a quick glance around at the lush jungle forest that was slowly developing, then proceeded directly towards the glowing book. Floating in the exact middle of the jungle, it gave off a radiance that seemed stronger than when he'd previously visited.

The short trip through the jungle highlighted how rapidly changes were being made. The forest itself now seemed separated into several different types, which, strangely enough met directly beneath the glowing book.

 _This isn't natural then, well, even less than it already was._ Tim thought, finally reaching his goal.

"Sifu! I need to talk with you for a bit, please?" Tim said aloud.

A soft sigh behind him, caused him to turn around.

Time seemed to slow and stop, when asked later by others, Tim could swear he saw the dust motes in the air frozen by the glowing book's sunbeams.

The moment stretched into infinity, before _She_ turned to face him. Blond hair like a golden waterfall fell down her back, eyes the color of blood red rubies, and skin of palest milky white jade. She was completely clothed in a sheer white robe that allowed tantalizing glimpses of soul devouring heavenly vistas. A visage that would make men drool with lustful desire, slowly melting their minds into slavish devotion, _She_ had a devious smile of joy on.

 _Pretty like mother!_ Tim thought, staring at the incredible female creature before him. For some strange reason he felt extremely hungry all of the sudden, he just wasn't sure what he was hungry for exactly. _I just ate before coming here, how strange._

"Hello little one. Do I meet all your expectations?" the woman said rising elegantly from the log she had briefly graced with her presence. It wasn't so much rising, as reality accommodating her suddenly being upright. She didn't even bother to brush her spotless white robe off, as if dirt or grass stains could never do something as crass as touch her.

"Sifu?!" Tim said with curiosity.

"Yes, I am Sifu. Pleased to meet you Timothy Norton Rawkfawler."

"P-pleased to meet you as well, Sifu!" Tim said with a slight stammer, bowing and trying his best to show good manners. It was always important to make a good first impression, many great successes were built on the initial encounter his father had with someone. If he tended to forget some of the boring things his father taught him, this fact at least, had stayed firmly rooted.

"Well, let's go somewhere a bit more comfortable to chat." Sifu said, making a small slicing gesture in the air. As if mimicking her, a dark slice of space appeared to the right of the both of them. There was the sensation of air being pulled into a vaccum as the darkness expanded and equalized pressure.

"This is?" Tim said looked at the rectangular cut doorway of darkness.

"It's the Door I guard." Sifu said, with a brilliant smile.

"Door…" Tim said, his eyes brightening up in a flash.

 _According to the histories, the ancient wizards were able to cut gateways between space, and even time. This knowledge has been lost for thousands of years though, so much it's regarded as a mere myths now, footnotes to a lost time._ Tim thought with excitement. _Could Sifu be older than the recorded history in the family's Library!?_ Tim thought with amazement.

Sifu stepped through the Door, with Tim a half-step behind her.

(((****)))

Sifu watched her apprentice carefully as he walked through the Door, and into a small cozy room filled wall to wall with books. His expressions flowed between delight, concern, amazement, shock, and curiosity with rapid movements.

"The Wizarding World is older than most people know." Sifu said, as she sat down at her favorite tea table in the center of the room.

"What do you mean?" her apprentice said, as he sat across from her.

Sifu dodged the question instead responding with one of her own, "Tell me, what are the names of the great wizards of ages past, this is important."

Her apprentice looked at her with a calm gaze before reciting, "Well, the only Ancient Wizard that really anyone knows these days is Farmer Jenkins. There's rumors and myths about others, but Jenkins is the only one with actual history to back him up. He's even rumored to be alive…somewhere."

"Milkboy Jenkins? Are you serious?" Sifu said, her face a mask of shock.

"M-Milkboy?" her apprentice said, confusion evident on his face.

Sifu's hand covered her face with a palm for a moment before she dropped the hand and regained her regal mask. Looking away at a bookshelf she said, "Jenkins, also known as That-Rat-Bastard-Milkboy, was infamous among the Sorcerer's Apprentices. Back in those days, before the War, everyone aspired to become a Sorcerer. Jenkins was a genius, all of us were to be sure, but he spent much of his intellectual prowess on pranks. Eventually, he pushed one of them too far."

Her apprentice listened with rapt attention, his posture betraying excitement.

"One of the older Sorcerer's, Grindelwald the Elder, didn't take the prank that accidently hit him very well. So, he decided to punish Mister Robert Jenkins with a very inventive method." Sifu said, her faint smirking smile.

Her apprentice shuddered as he saw her smile turn darker.

"Grindelwald executed a marvelous curse, that apparently still works to this day, evident from the name "Farmer" attached to Jenkins own. It was ingenuous in its complexity, essentially, the curse would make Jenkins smell like milk. To be specific, cow's milk, now normally that wouldn't be an issue." Sifu said, leaning forward on the table and placing both hands to support her dreamy face. "But this curse, oh, this marvelous curse…"

Sifu watched her student at the edge of his seat and smiled inside.

"It was linked to a Time Twist, a Spatial Swirl, and best of all, a Singularity. It was literally, a work of the highest Art. Whenever that pranking bastard, Jenkins, would cast a spell, the milk would _age_ due to the Time Twist. Whenever he casted anything related to a prank, it would drench him with the _aged milk_ from the Spatial Swirl effect. Last of all, whenever he tried to tell anyone about it all the effects would vanish into the Singularity and then reappear _doubled_ after they left." Sifu started giggling.

"That doesn't sound too bad…" her apprentice said, his face confused.

"Oh, oh it's not! Not at first! But, but…" Sifu started to laugh so hard she couldn't continue right away, "But the curse, the curse, it started branching out the older it got! One time, he was in bed with his girlfriend at the time and…" Sifu lost it, laughter exploding out as her eyes teared up. Her inhumanely beautiful countenance twisted into a mask as she pounded the table with her fist.

"Oh…oooooh." her apprentice said, his eyes widening.

 _To be interrupted in the middle of the height of his passions, hah! Serves that bastard right!_ Sifu thought, thinking vengefully of the times she'd been pranked by Jenkins.

"So he was interrupted while wrestling with his girlfriend, wow…that's pretty cruel." her apprentice said.

His comment only added fuel to the fire, and Sifu spent a good several minutes in manic laughter.

After she calmed down, Sifu conjured a cloth, wiped her face off, and smiled beautifically at her new apprentice.

"Well, that was the most fun I've had in a few thousand years. Alright, let's get started with some serious learning now." Sifu said, an evil smile on her face.


End file.
